Chief Minister N Biren Singh has shown a mirror to the Congress which is trying to put PM Modi in the dock regarding the situation of violence in Manipur. Biren Singh, while replying to Jairam Ramesh, has told how Congress continuously allowed infiltrators from Myanmar to settle in the state and also made agreements with terrorist groups who spread terror in India by setting up bases in Myanmar. He has asked Congress to stop playing politics over the situation in the state and help resolve the issues.
Describing the condition of Manipur during the Congress government, Biren Singh wrote on Such as the continuous resettlement of Burmese (Myanmar) refugees in Manipur and signing of SOO agreement with Myanmar boys, it was pioneered by P Chidambaram during his tenure as Home Minister of India.”
Everyone, including yourself, is aware that Manipur is in turmoil today because of the past sins committed by the Congress, such as the repeated settlement of Burmese refugees in Manipur and the signing of the SoO Agreement with Myanmar-based militants in the state, spearheaded … https://t.co/A0X9urZ7M6
— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) December 31, 2024
Biren Singh further wrote, “The apology I have apologized for today is for those who have been displaced and rendered homeless by this violence. As a Chief Minister, my appeal was to understand and forgive what happened. However, you dragged politics into this too.”
After this Biren Singh reminded Jairam Ramesh how Manipur was burning during the Congress rule. He wrote, “Let me remind you that due to the Naga-Kuki conflict in Manipur, about 1,300 people were killed and thousands were rendered homeless. This violence continued for many years. There were periodic flare-ups of violence between 1992 and 1997. The maximum violence occurred during 1992–93. This whole violence started in 1992 and continued for almost five years 1992-1997.”
Why can’t the Prime Minister go to Manipur and say the same thing there? He has deliberately avoided visiting the state since May 4th, 2023, even as he jets around the country and the world. The people of Manipur simply cannot understand this neglect https://t.co/38lizNtiAy
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 31, 2024
He further wrote, “This period was one of the most violent conflicts in Northeast India. This affected relations between the Naga and Kuki communities in Manipur. Did PV Narasimha Rao, who was the Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996 and was also the President of the Congress during this period, come to Manipur to apologise? 350 people died in the state in the fight between Kuki-Paita. During the cookie-cutter violence (1997–1998), IK Gujral was the Prime Minister of India. Did he visit Manipur and apologize to the people?
Biren Singh asked why Congress was doing politics over the Manipur issue instead of making efforts to resolve it. This reply of Biren Singh came on the question of Jairam Ramesh in which he had asked why PM Modi himself does not come to Manipur and apologize. Jairam Ramesh had claimed that PM Modi was not going to Manipur intentionally. He said this after CM Biren Singh apologized to the people of the state. On December 31, 2024, Biren Singh had expressed grief over the violence in the year 2024 and apologized.
It is noteworthy that fighting has been going on between the Kuki and Naga communities since the 1990s. This fight started after the movement launched by the Kuki community to get Kukiland. A large part of this so-called Kukiland is in the hills of Manipur, which was occupied by the Nagas. reports “The fighting started when Kuki fighters attacked the Nagas, burned their villages and killed or displaced hundreds of people from the Naga community.”
Then the Nagas had also warned the Kuki community to stop the violence but it had no effect. After this, the Nagas started attacking the Kuki community and over the next 3 years, more than 230 people of the Kuki community were killed. Several thousand people were also thrown out of the Naga area. This conflict came to a halt in 1997 when fighting broke out between the Kukis and the Paitas. Kuki and Paiti belong to the same group, but both differentiate themselves on the basis of their language.
In 1992, when the Nagas forcibly drove out the people of the Kuki community, they started settling in Paite areas. One of these is Churachandpur which was the native place of Paite. The Kukis began to settle in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, which is the homeland of the Paitias. Kuki militants supported the people who settled here and started harassing Paita. They were asked to leave their own areas. Later Paite also formed a militant group for security.
After this the situation continued to worsen here. The Kuki militant group attacked a Paite village called Saikul in June 1997 and killed 13 Paite. After this, large-scale violence took place between the two, in which about 15,000 people were killed and rendered homeless. Peace between the two communities came when a ‘peace agreement’ was signed in October 1998. Under this, two different sects, Kukis and Zomis, were recognized.
The agreement that Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh talked about was done by the Congress government in 2005. it agreement There was suspension of operations between Kuki fighters and the Indian Army. Under this, the Kuki fighters had to stop the conflict. Apart from this, another agreement was signed between the Central Government, Manipur Government and 25 Kuki militant organizations. According to the peace agreement, the fighting groups were asked not to use weapons and ammunition, but despite this, a situation of concern remained due to several clashes and seizures.
