A shameful resignation after burning of the land
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Biren Singh, who had been in the Chief Minister's chair since May 2023, supporting the rioters in the state without doing anything to put out the fire or heal the wounds in Manipur, which has been burning with ethnic hatred, has finally been forced to resign. When it came to the point that even those from his own party would support a no-confidence motion if the opposition party Congress moved it in the assembly session, the central leadership that had stood by Biren all this time had no option but to let him down. The allegations about the role played by the Chief Minister, who sided with the Meitei faction in the riots between the Kuki-Meitei tribes, are very strong. According to the official figures released by the Government's Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh, the death toll in the communal riots in Manipur was 258 till the third week of November last year. Even after that, violence continued in many parts of the state and many people lost their lives. In several places, the assailants took the lives of their fellow citizens using weapons kept in the army's warehouses meant to protect the lives and property of the people of the country.
The patronage offered by the Modi government at the Centre was instrumental in extending the life of the Biren Singh government in this manner, despite the chaos and breakdown of law and order at its peak, women being gang-raped on the streets, and the Supreme Court itself making harsh remarks at one point. Biren Singh is as much responsible for the worsening situation in Manipur as the Central Government. In the initial phase of the riots, the Union Home Minister, apart from making a visit and making an announcement, did not take any constructive steps to stop the violence or restore the confidence of the people. Had all possible steps been taken at least during that visit, Manipur would not have remained a cauldron of unrest for months. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister were busy with assembly election tours during the riots. The people of Manipur had hoped that the Prime Minister would visit the region at least during the Lok Sabha elections. Till date, he has not set foot in that region or spoken out seriously condemning the violence.
The only people who showed some sense of responsibility are the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who came forward to visit Manipur before and after the elections, the small section of the media that informed the outside world about the atrocities that the government tried to cover up, the opposition in the assembly, and the ruling party MLAs who raised the flag of rebellion against the Chief Minister at the belated moment due to fear that the people would give them up. The Central and State governments have treated Manipur like a patient being pushed to death due to indifference, deliberate neglect and discrimination when he could have been completely cured if treated at the beginning.
Even today, lives survive in the state only thanks to the hope and faith that the people have reposed in the idea of India, the country's constitution and the judiciary. It is not unknown to our rulers and their coterie of advisors that such government lapses will further alienate the people of a country that is inherently backward and vulnerable to divisive forces forcing them to completely deviate from the mainstream. The Kuki faction is still adamant in its demand for a separate administrative region. The fact that the Centre has sought the resignation of the Chief Minister after such a long delay cannot be said to be justice for the people of Manipur, but rather a face-saving tactic. The sufferings that the people of Manipur have been undergoing for the past 21 months is something for which the establishment is accountable. All crimes including murders, sexual assaults, arson of houses and places of worship, and smuggling of weapons from warehouses must be investigated impartially, and the culprits given adequate punishment. Moreover, every person in Manipur and other northeastern states must be assured that they are an integral part of India. Those who are ruling the country have not yet become ready to give such an assurance.