What prompted N Biren Singh, former Chief Minister of Manipur, to tear into the memory of the late Purno A Sangma, former Lok Sabha Speaker and Chief Minister of Meghalaya?
On Monday morning Biren shared a video on X of Purno speaking in Parliament years ago and wrote, “A dangerous idea that threatened the unity of our nation. Today, we are seeing similar attempts to interfere in Manipur’s internal affairs to destabilise the state.”
What was it that the Purno said that was so dangerous that it threatens the unity of the country?
The late politician, who died in 2016, was simply saying that there are calls in the North East for smaller states and that he supported this. He listed several potential new states, including Garoland out of Meghalaya and “Kukiland” out of Manipur.
The desire for a separate Kukiland – either state, Union territory or something else – has only grown ever since Manipur descended into violence in 2023 between Biren’s Meitei community of the Imphal Valley and the Kukis of the hills.
On its own, the division of Manipur – or any other state – cannot be thought of as a “dangerous” idea that threatens the very unity of India.
After all, it was only six years ago, in 2019, that Ladakh was split from Jammu and Kashmir. The creation of new states has been practised ever since Independence, first with the reorganisation of the old British-era provinces and princely states. Then, borders were further altered along linguistic lines – an example of this was the old Bombay state, which was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960.
A fight against the imposition of Assamese led to the creation of Meghalaya but it also saw two communities that speak different languages – the Garo and Khasi-Jaintia – forged together into one state. For its part, Manipur, whose borders were born out of the erstwhile princely state and not changed following Independence, combines Meiteis, Nagas and Kukis, among others.
States’ boundaries have changed and there are demands across the length and breadth of the country for more changes. Do these hurt India’s unity? Not in the slightest.
Manipur, though, has its own peculiarities, to be sure. Slap bang on the border with troubled Myanmar, Manipur is vulnerable to drugs, weapons, militancy and migrants coming from across the international boundary. There are, indeed, large populations of Nagas and Kukis living in Myanmar. With the neighbouring nation undergoing a brutal civil war, it is unsurprising if many Nagas and Kukis want to shelter in India and it is unsurprising (indeed, humane) that they are welcomed by their brethren.
Could this destabilise India? Theoretically, yes, and the Indian government needs to be alert. But let us not pretend that Biren Singh is the man to save Manipur. He is tainted with failure – failure to maintain peace and failure to restore peace once the violence broke out. Going after Purno Sangma, who had far more stature than Biren ever had or will have, smacks of desperation.
