To remove or not remove N Biren Singh. That is the question! Tough though it is.
On May 3, 2023, Manipur was plunged into chaos, violence, and an aura of darkness. It has been five months, and still, a light at the end of the tunnel cannot be seen by the people facing this unprecedented civil war.
At the Centre of the conflict is the Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh. The true mettle, integrity, and fortitude of a leader are challenged when unforeseen circumstances throw them and the people they are responsible for, into the deep end of the ocean swarming with sharks.
The ongoing Manipur conflict is one test and the person undergoing that test is the incumbent Chief Minister of Manipur. Now, N Biren Singh can either swim or drown. But while protecting himself, he also has the responsibility of protecting his people and his state. While N Biren Singh, so far, is managing to swim in the deep end of the ocean with the sharks around him, it is the state of Manipur and its people who are drowning and they are becoming the fodder for the China-funded terror groups from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are like the sharks in the deep end of the ocean.
Recently at a meeting held between Ministers and MLAs representing the valley area of Manipur and the Youth of Manipur (YoM) at Manipur Bhavan, New Delhi, the YoM raised the following demands: formation of a regional party, change of Chief Minister, and appointment of an alternate Chief Minister.
The demand for the removal of the Chief Minister by the YoM is a reflection of the lack of confidence that a large section of the youth in Manipur has in N Biren Singh to continue as the Chief Minister of Manipur. In an interview with online media, Meira Paibi leader, Lourembam Nganbi stated that the ‘Torch Bearers’ hold N Biren Singh and Narendra Modi completely responsible for the conflict and that she believes that they are out to end the Meitei community. In that interview, the Meira Paibi leader even stated they impressed upon Union Home Minister Amit Shah to stop poppy cultivation, stop narco-terrorism, develop a good education system in Manipur, help people return to their homes, cancel the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement but after he left Imphal, attacks on the Meiteis increased and she believed that Amit Shah encouraged the Kuki to attack Meitei more.
When I visited Manipur in the month of August 2023 and spoke with the Meira Paibis in Imphal, many came out in support of N Biren Singh. In fact, when the Chief Minister wanted to resign from his post in June 2023, it was Meira Paibis who stopped N Biren Singh from resigning. He had at that point in time unconditional support from the Meira Paibis and many people from the Meitei community.
At the end of September 2023, when I visited Manipur again and spoke to the Meira Paibis, that unconditional support turned conditional. In fact, I have seen some videos of Meira Paibis taking out protests carrying the effigies of N Biren Singh along with effigies of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. The Meira Paibis do not appear to have that confidence and neither do the YoM have faith in the ability of N Biren Singh to bring peace and harmony to Manipur, resolve the Manipur conflict, and more importantly stop the ongoing violence.
The people of the Kuki community have no doubt in their opinion of N Biren Singh. From the onset of the conflict in the state, representatives of the Kuki communities have been demanding the replacement of the Chief Minister because according to them the conflict between the Meitei and Kuki has been instigated by people close to him and under his guidance. They believe that the Meitei have been brainwashed by people close to N Biren Singh and therefore they are targeting the Kuki. In fact, in my conversations with the representatives of the Kuki communities, many alleged that N Biren Singh has been systemically discriminating against the Kuki communities and that the branding of Kukis as narco-terrorists, illegal immigrants and outsiders is the brainchild of N Biren Singh.
In the Kuki territories so much is the dislike for N Biren Singh that there are walls in Kangpoki sprayed painted with abuses against the Chief Minister. In Churachandpur poster has come up with N Biren Singh’s picture titled ‘Narcos-Manipur’. Ironically, though, it was N Biren Singh who led the ‘War Against Drugs’ in the state.Hundreds of poppy fields have been destroyed since the war on drugs campaign was launched. The hills of Ukhrul, Senapati, Kangpokpi, Kamjong, Churachandpur, and Tengnoupal districts were especially targeted as large-scale illegal cultivation of poppy was being carried out. The government states that of 2,518 people arrested under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between 2017 and 2023, only 873 were from the Kuki-Chin community, while 1,083 were Muslims, 381 Meiteis, and 181 were from other communities. This is despite the fact that the Kuki-Chin community cultivated poppy in 13,121.8 acres of land and the Naga Community only 2,340 acres. Interestingly, state data indicates that the extent of land used to grow the poppy plant from which opium is derived has increased more than three times from 1,853 acres to 6,742.8 acres.
While 23 MLAs from Manipur recently issued a press statement reposing their faith in the continuance of N Biren Singh as the Chief Minister of Manipur. But a few are hoping that the Centre acts decisively by replacing N Biren Singh and bringing someone who can be a bridge between the Meitei and Kuki communities as the Chief Minister.
Opposition parties too have been demanding the resignation of N Biren Singh. They opine that N Biren Singh is walking to the diktats of the BJP agenda of terrorizing the minorities in Manipur because the Meiteis are predominately Hindus while Kukis are predominately Christians. In fact, many in the Opposition and certain sections of the Indian and foreign media at the onset of the violence gave the Manipur conflict a religious conflagration spin, which was a lie.
The top leadership in BJP is stuck in a dilemma – to remove or not remove N Biren Singh. Though initially, N Biren Singh got support from the Central leadership and they reposed their faith in him in particular the Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the initial months of the Manipur conflict; but now after five months that faith in him is slowly dwindling, and it appears that he is slowly losing his clout with the central leadership but it is not yet lost completely. There are some in the top leadership in the party who opine that replacing the CM at this point in time is no guarantee of the resolution of the conflict in Manipur, so some feel that it is strategically prudent to maintain a status quo on political changes while going aggressively after the terror groups waging a proxy war for China with India.
There is no doubt that the situation of the conflict in Manipur is beyond the control of N Biren Singh because the enemy at play is not an enemy of the state of Manipur but an enemy of India. The enemy is foreign but the pawns are local. Therefore it is imperative that the Central leadership takes charge, otherwise, the conflict in Manipur will turn into a national security concern. The arrest by NIA of suspects waging a war with India is an indication of the terror groups from Myanmar and Bangladesh active in Manipur. These terror groups are trained in Myanmar and Bangladesh by the People’s Liberation Army of China and funded by China. The aim to is derail Narendra Modi’s ‘Act East Policy’ and further expand the narcotics business in Manipur and out of Manipur to fund terror activities with a focus on targetting India and creating a Chinese hegemony in Asia.
The decision on N Biren Singh now rests with the top leadership. The outcome of their decision will decide the future course that the Manipur conflict will take. The problem, I see, with N Biren Singh, after all the good and bad stories, and also allegations I have heard leveled about him, is that somewhere in the Manipur conflict, he stopped being the Chief Minister of Manipur and became the Chief Minister of the Meiteis and now he remains confused about his role as a Chief Minister or his continuance, with the Centre slowly taking control of the crisis in Manipur. Till today, Meiteis are not safe to go into Kuki territories, Kukis are not safe to go into Meitei territories. This is a failure of the Chief Minister to broker peace between the communities. On that, I must say, very little has been done by N Biren Singh.
in hindsight, many are pontificating that N Biren Singh could have acted in this or that manner during the ongoing conflict but those are mere afterthoughts. Of course, there is no doubt that he has made some crucial tactical errors and must be questioned about his failures. Some people also opine that those wanting the removal of N Biren Singh are targeting him because he initiated the ‘War on Drugs’ and they survive because of the Rs 70,000 crore narcotics business. Whatever the reason to keep or remove N Biren Singh it does not change one simple and pertinent fact Manipur is facing a civil war which is witnessing a spate of violence that is uncontrollable.
To me it is simple, the violence in Manipur must stop whether N Biren Singh is the Chief Minister or not; And that should be the only priority of the people of Manipur and the top leadership at the Centre, otherwise years of hard work in Manipur and other Northeast states with the Act East Policy (AEP) will be jeopardized if the conflict is not resolved and further crisis is not avoided. China wants turmoil, we must not play into China’s hands.
