History of Insurgency in Manipur – Free PDF Download

The News

• Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing an election rally in Imphal West, called upon insurgency groups operating in Manipur to shun violence and come to the negotiating table.
• Singh said the Centre is ready to hold dialogue with them to bring lasting peace to the region.
  • Rajnath Singh
    • “We are ready for dialogue with insurgency groups because all the problems vexing this region should be resolved, be it unemployment, poverty, among others”.

History of Insurgency in Manipur

• The emergence of insurgency in Manipur dates back to 1964 with the formation of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), which still remains one of the formidable militant outfits.
• The rise of separatist insurgency in Manipur mainly attributed to perceived discontent over alleged “forced” merger of Manipur with the Union of India and the subsequent delay in granting it full-fledged statehood.
• The erstwhile Kingdom of Manipur was merged with India on October 15, 1949, it became a state only in 1972.

History of Insurgency in Manipur

• It started with UNLF in 1964 but later years saw a slew of militant outfits being formed, including the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), People’s United Liberation Front (PULF) among others.

Causes of Insurgency in Manipur

• Alleged Forced Merger
• Greater Nagalim movement
• Meitei v Other groups
• Nagas v Kuki conflict of 1990s
• AFSPA
• Porous border & interference

Progress Report

• NSCN-IM entered a ceasefire agreement with GoI in 1997. Since 2015 renegotiation is going on.
• Kuki outfits – the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF), also signed the tripartite Suspension of Operation (SoO) pacts with GoI in 2008.
• In 2012, 103 rebels belonging to UNLF, PULF, KYKL, PREPAK, KNLF, KCP, PLA, UNPC, NSCN-IM, NSCN-K, UPPK and KRPA and KRF surrendered.
• Many smaller outfits have also entered the SoO agreement with the state government, which has launched rehabilitation programmes for such groups.
• However, major valley-based militant outfits (Meitei groups) such as the UNLF, PLA, KYKL etc. are yet to come to the negotiating table.

The Problem still exists

• Small & Proxy Groups keep coming up
• Conflicting demands from groups
• Political – Insurgent groups nexus
• Porous border provides ease of escape

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