Manipur story gets bigger as Conrad Sangma withdraws support to state govt

By withdrawing support from the government, Conrad Sangma has stood up to be counted in the eyes of the Kuki-Zo. Whether that matters is a proposition yet to be tested

Conrad Sangma, chief of the National People’s Party (NPP) and chief minister of Meghalaya, has withdrawn support to the Manipur government, which is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, the government, with support from 32 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), is not in any danger of destabilisation. What is more, the NPP will continue to be a member of the Northeast Democratic Alliance, floated by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Northeastern equivalent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and will continue to stay in alliances where the BJP is a partner. In Meghalaya, the NPP, with 31 MLAs, is in power, and is supported by two BJP MLAs. In Nagaland, the NPP, with five MLAs, remains in the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-led ruling alliance. Five NPP MLAs are also part of the BJP-led ruling alliance in Arunachal Pradesh.

 

Mr Sangma’s demand is: Replace N Biren Singh as chief minister of Manipur and we will return to support the government. In a sense, it is a cry from the heart.

 

But there’s politics and self-interest at work too.

 

At least 19 people have been killed in the latest spate of violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district. Ethnic clashes began last year as a standoff between the Meitei, around half the population in Manipur who sought tribal status after the Manipur High Court recommended the state government consider the demand, and other tribal groups. Extending reservations to the Meitei would mean they would get a share in education and government jobs reserved for the Kukis-Zo and Nagas, the two dominant (tribal) groups in the state.

 

This obviously created a volatile situation in all of the Northeast. The Meitei live in Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, though their number is the largest in Manipur. The Kuki-Zo, who trace their lineage to Myanmar’s Chin tribe, are also present all over the region and since the coup in Myanmar, there has been a steady stream of refugees into India, giving rise to Meitei fears that Kuki-Zo might outnumber them.

 

All the Northeastern states, including Assam, have taken a stand on events in Manipur. Everyone wants violence to end, though there are differences on how this should happen. Shadowy, armed militia groups pose a threat to all governments in the region.

 

But Mr Sangma faces a twin challenge: Keeping his flock together while advancing his party’s and his own interests in the region.

 

His MLAs in Manipur derived benefits of all kinds while being part of the government. Most of them asked him to continue supporting the BJP. But there were others, like Y Joykumar Singh, a former director general of police in Manipur (2007-12), a member of the first Biren Singh Cabinet and now vice-president of the NPP, who felt the NPP’s association with the BJP was dragging it down. As a Garo tribal himself, Mr Sangma understood that Kuki-Zo, who were feeling unsafe in Manipur, could not be turned away from Meghalaya. Who knows when their support might be needed in other Northeastern states where the NPP is looking to expand. The Meghalaya government has directed officials to support the Kuki-Zo who had fled Manipur. And he told New Delhi he was willing to intercede between the various groups so that their problems could be addressed “in a balanced and holistic” manner. Every word was carefully chosen so as not to offend anyone.

 

But his offer had no takers. On the contrary, the Manipur chief minister froze his party out of all consultations. Sporadic acts of violence were controlled using paramilitary forces — until the cataclysmic breakdown of law and order earlier this month, forcing Union Home Minister Amit Shah to abandon his campaign in Maharashtra and rush to Manipur.

 

Mr Sangma is no stranger to politics in the Northeast. You might say it runs in his blood. His father, P A Sangma, was a member of the Congress for years. He is seen as a young and ambitious politician who wants to make it big in the Northeast. He is also one of the most vocal about identity and religion. He has argued that the Uniform Civil Code is a bad idea as it does not go with the culture of Meghalaya. He is bitterly opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and has asked that Meghalaya and Assam be exempt from it. Meghalaya is Christian-majority.

 

In his current move he has gambled big, knowing his support to the Manipur government is largely irrelevant and that his actions could drive his MLAs into the arms of the BJP, causing significant loss of political capital for him. But in the eyes of the Kuki Zo, he has stood up to be counted. Whether that matters is a proposition yet to be tested.