The Indian Supreme Court on Tuesday refused an urgent plea to dispatch troops to the province of Manipur, where Christian mountain-dwelling tribes are clashing with lowland Hindus.
The court decided the situation was purely a “law-and-order problem” that did not merit military intervention, even though at least 115 people have been killed during the latest round of violence.
The plea for intervention was filed by a non-governmental organization called the Manipur Tribal Forum, which said dozens of tribal residents have been killed since the court held its first hearing on the matter on May 17.
“We have taken out an urgent application for the protection of the tribals and the prosecution of those attacking them. 70 tribals have been killed despite the assurance given by the state to this court last month,” said Tribal Forum senior advocate Colin Gonsalves.
The provincial government of Manipur sent Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta to oppose the request. Metha was utterly dismissive of the motion, effectively chiding the Tribal Forum for pestering the court instead of waiting for further hearings scheduled in July.
“Security agencies are already on the ground, and they are doing their best. My friend’s public interest can certainly wait,” Mehta said in response to the plea filed by Gonsalves.
“Besides, this is the second time such an application has been made before this court,” Mehta continued. “It was mentioned earlier too, and the court refused to entertain it at that time. Now, the court has listed this matter after the summer vacation.”
Gonsalves retorted that another 50 tribals could be killed by the time hearings resumed, but the court sided with Mehta.
“It’s a serious issue of law and order. You can aggravate the problem by making such submissions. The moment you say they are not doing it properly, you can create more problems,” the court told Gonsalves.
The court’s summer vacation will last until July 3 and the Tribal Forum feared it could be another two weeks before any action is taken.
Indian opposition leaders on Tuesday criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who heads the Hindu-nationalist BJP party, for failing to visit Manipur before departing on his trip to the United States.
“When I asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not visiting the burning Manipur, but is keen on going to the US, I was countered with arguments like ‘one should not spit at the Sun’. If your ‘guru’ is like the Sun, then why he is not shining over Manipur?” said Uddhav Thackeray, president of the opposition UBT party.
Thackeray quoted assessments that Manipur has become essentially lawless and slammed BJP for not even stepping in to keep Hindus in the province safe from violence. The Manipur Tribal Forum had an even darker scenario than incompetence in mind, accusing the BJP government of deliberately assisting a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” against the tribes.
The opposition Indian National Congress party was on the same wavelength, saying on Monday that “every passing day of neglect” demonstrates that “PM Modi and the BJP are interested in prolonging the conflict, not finding a solution.”
“Hundreds dead, thousands rendered homeless, countless churches and places of worship destroyed, and a state administration that is part of the problem, not the solution,” Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said on Twitter.
“To make matters even worse, the violence is now spreading to Mizoram as well,” Venugopal added, referring to the state that borders Manipur to the south.
“When will he speak to the country, to make a simple call for peace?” Venugopal asked of Modi. “When will he demand accountability from the Union Home Minister and the Manipur CM [Chief Minister] for their total failure in bringing peace?”
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh did make an appeal for peace on Monday, asking all parties to stop firing shots and setting homes ablaze. However, Singh blamed the Christian Kuki tribes as the primary instigators of violence.
“These acts must stop. Mainly the SoO Kuki militants should stop it, otherwise they will face the consequences,” Singh said. “SoO” means “Suspension of Operations,” an agreement made with Kuki militants to refrain from using violence.
“I also appeal to the Meitei people, who are with arms, not to attack anything. Maintain peace so that we can restore normalcy in Manipur,” he added.
Singh pledged that the state government will “construct prefabricated houses” for those displaced by the fighting. He estimated that three to four thousand such houses will be needed.
The Indian Army said on Monday that one of its units was moving through Manipur when it came under “unprovoked firing” by “armed miscreants,” inflicting an apparently non-fatal gunshot wound on one soldier.
The Manipur conflict began in early May when the valley-dwelling Meitei people called for the government to provide fewer special benefits for the Kuki and another minority mountain tribe, the Naga. The state government reserves some jobs for tribe members and grants them control of certain areas that have been set aside as “ancestral lands.”
The Meitei asked to be designated as a “scheduled tribe,” the same classification given to the Kuki and Naga, who were outraged that the more prosperous majority inhabitants of Manipur would demand the same considerations given to them.
Shockingly violent riots broke out in Manipur, killing dozens of people and displacing thousands more. Chief Minister Singh thought the province was back under control after a week of violence, but more clashes broke out later in May. The Kuki complained that Meitei mobs targeted their churches and schools.
The Indian Supreme Court is currently hearing a petition that would overturn the Manipur High Court’s decision to extend “scheduled tribe” status to the Meitei. The petition argued that granting this request for status triggered the violence in Manipur. The Manipur High Court accepted a petition along the same lines on Tuesday, possibly signaling a willingness to back away from the controversial order.