2023: MHA tackles violence in Manipur, signs peace pacts with insurgents in NE
New Delhi: Tackling challenges like ethnic violence in Manipur and sporadic terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir while taking landmark steps in overhauling the British-era criminal justice laws and signing peace pacts with insurgent outfits in the Northeast, the year 2023 was a mixed bag for the Ministry of Home Affairs.
A long-delayed peace agreement with the pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) at the fag-end of the year has given a firm indication that the Home Minister Amit Shah-led ministry is serious about resolving the problems that have affected the Northeast for decades and claimed many lives.
A major crisis came to the fore on May 3 when ethnic violence erupted in Manipur after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts of the Northeastern state to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
At least 180 people were killed in violence that continued for months. Shah visited the state for four consecutive days to calm down the warring communities - Meitei and Kuki.
A series of confidence-building measures were taken including the constitution of a judicial inquiry committee, financial aid to the victims and sending additional troops.
Even though fragile peace returned to Manipur after several months, the mistrust between the two communities poses a serious hurdle.
‘Normalcy has returned to a great extent in Manipur and the law and order situation is by and large peaceful. Even though the trust deficit between the Meitei and the Kuki communities
remains, the government is trying its best to bring them closer,’ a senior home ministry official said.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.
The governement, on November 13, also extended by five years the ban imposed on nine Meitei extremist groups and their associate organisations, which mostly operate in Manipur, for their anti-national activities and launching fatal attacks on security forces.
On November 29, a peace pact was signed by the government with the Imphal valley-based oldest terror outfit United National Liberation Front (UNLF), dominated by the majority Meitei community, under which the insurgent faction has agreed to renounce violence.
The Modi government has signed a series of agreements with Northeast-based
insurgent groups in the last
five years.
