Why Manipur scares minorities

The debate on the Oppositionrsquos noconfidence motion will unlikely focus on the fear the events in Manipur have spawned among Indiarsquos minority and marginalised groups Their fear is about Hindutva outfits enjoying State patronage targeting them This has had them protest in different parts of the country against the Statersquos complicity in the violence in Manipur even though they have no ethnic ties with the KukisDiscount the massive protest in Mizoram for the Mizos and Kukis are ethnically bonded But the same cannot be said of protests in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh The Nagas and Kukis are considered historical rivals but last week the womenrsquos wing of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland IM the most influential group among the Nagas issued a statement saying ldquohumanity is under attack in the most ruthless and cruel manner that finds no parallel in the history of ManipurrdquoIn Jharkhand tribal organisations gathered for three consecutive days at Ranchirsquos Albert Ekka Chowk against the desultory ethnic battle in Manipur Activist Dayamani Barla thought the Manipur violence was deliberately allowed in a bid to control power and resources there Chhattisgarhrsquos Adivasi Samaj organised a successful bandh last Monday in Bastar The biggest surprise was Gujarat where markets in several tribaldominated districts were shut in solidarity with the KukisAligarh Muslim University students overcame their fear of the Uttar Pradesh government to agitate for the rights of Kukis Their show of concern was in contrast to their silence over Hindutva outfits ordering Muslims to leave Purola town Uttarakhand weeks agoPunjab batting for Kukis is not a surprise as the state has been at the vanguard of the emerging trend of minorities in one part of India expressing empathy for a minority group being oppressed in another part Punjab had agitated fiercely against the reading down of Article 370 flashing posters that said ldquoOur pain is shared our enemy is sharedrdquo Sikhs participated in Muslimled protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019ldquoOur enemyrdquo in the poster was a reference to the organisations subscribing to Hindutva They demonise the minorities in different pockets to acquire electoral majority and try to assimilate them into the Hindu fold In tribal belts it is also about appropriating resources for big businessesTo achieve their goals rightwing groups adopt different strategies depending on the identity of minorities caught in their crosshairs But the goal everywhere is the same establish the hegemony of Hindutva and homogenise India It is not a coincidence that most of the social groups mentioned above have also expressed their disapproval of a uniform civil codeA 2019 Caravan magazine story Land of the Rising Sangh provides telling examples of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghrsquos strategy in the Northeast At Khonoma a Nagaland village a rock resembling the head of a man was believed to represent the guardian spirit of the forest It was declared to be Lord Sivarsquos head Near Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh a large pointed rock was declared a Shivaling and the place rechristened the Sidheshwar Nath templeThe Caravan story says a day at Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas in the region begins with a ldquoHindu prayer followed by an hour of bhajans Before every meal irrespective of their faith students recite another Hindu prayer The day ends with another hourlong prayer sessionrdquo The RSS also encourages the followers of indigenous religions to challenge Christian missionaries some of whose bank accounts were frozen for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act Keeping the Northeastrsquos ethnic cauldron perpetually simmering is not an exception for the SanghAfter mercilessly demonising Muslims for a decade the Bharatiya Janata Party is wooing Pasmanda or backward caste Muslims in order to divide the community The party raised the bogey of Khalistan to undermine Punjabrsquos overwhelming support for the farmer movement It tried but failed to stoke the ire of Sikhs against Christians over their alleged proselytisation activities Hundreds of participants in the Pathalgadi movement in Jharkhand were booked for sedition Whenever and wherever Adivasis protest they are summarily labelled MaoistsIndiarsquos minorities have drawn two lessons from Manipur One it is safer for minorities to live in contiguous areas and urban ghettos Otherwise they can be easy meat in a riot directed against them This is why Manipur is witnessing a transfer of population between the valley where the Meiteis dominate and the hills which is the Kuki turf New borders will emerge in India as had happened in Ahmedabad where Muslims irrespective of their class flocked to Juhapura after the 2002 Gujarat riotsTwo it is increasingly becoming the common sense that the casualties among the Kukis would have been infinitely higher had they not possessed arms to counter the armed Meitei groups This fact could prompt misguided segments among minorities to arm themselves an eventuality that could be perilous for IndiaThe banding of minorities out of their common fear is still at an incipient stage The Amritsarbased sociologist Paramjit Singh Judge predicts ldquoShould the BJP get another term this trend of minority consolidation across religious ethnic and regional boundaries will only intensifyrdquo The barbarity in Manipur has given a new twist to minority politicsThe writer is a senior journalistSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper