India is swept up in election fever but there’s little sign of it on the streets of Kangpokpi in Manipur state, where inter-ethnic violence has sharply divided residents of the remote region, reports Nikkei Asia.
As the world’s biggest democracy kicked off a six-week voting process last month, Kangpokpi resident Mang Kipgen walked by one of the town’s polling booths to find it deserted — in stark contrast to other parts of the country.
‘All I could see were cows and dogs on the roads,’ the 33-year-old told Nikkei Asia.
The gloomy scene underscores fear among candidates to campaign openly — after an armed group warned against it — and a voting boycott by some Manipur residents who say the state and central governments have done little to end a year-long cycle of violence in this northeastern pocket of India.
More than 220 people have been killed since fresh conflict erupted last May, including the recent shooting of two youths that sent tensions soaring. Tens of thousands have been displaced by the bloodshed between tribal groups, a situation complicated by an influx of refugees fleeing civil war in nearby Myanmar.
‘There’s been no peace or resolution. Both the state and central government have been a failure,’ Kipgen said. ‘Abstaining from the election was to let the government know Manipur is a problem and they need to solve it.’
It remains to be seen whether that will happen. The state of 3.6 million barely registers a blip on the electoral radar with just two seats up for grabs in the country’s 543-seat parliament, both currently held by prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and an ally.
Last month, the US State Department’s annual human rights report pointed to ‘significant’ abuses in Manipur. India’s foreign ministry rejected the report as ‘deeply biased’.
The opposition has criticised Modi for not visiting the state during campaigning and failing to end the violence. But India’s leader recently said there had been a marked improvement in Manipur ‘due to the timely intervention by the central and state governments.’
Manipur’s violence stems from conflict between the Meitei people, the region’s majority, and the minority Kuki-Zo with the two communities divided by a buffer zone patrolled by federal security forces. The Kuki-Zo control hills surrounding the Meitei-controlled Imphal Valley. The BJP-run state government has been accused of siding with the majority Meitei.
‘We have suffered a lot, and we want some serious attention,’ said one Kuki activist.
Longstanding tensions between the groups over land claims and job opportunities soared after a court ordered that majority Meiteis, who make up over half the population, should be granted status rights like those given to Kukis, a group accounting for less than 20 per cent of Manipur’s people.
Many in the Kuki community are abstaining from the elections after the community’s highest governing body called for a boycott.
‘The excitement is missing because people think this is not the right time to conduct elections in the state,’ said Kaybie Changloi, a journalist based in Kangpokpi. ‘And it is purely because people think the government has failed them.’
In the regional capital Imphal, which lies in Meitei territory, election meetings have been held behind closed doors with no noisy campaigns or public rallies. Fears of violence were stirred by an order from armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol against election campaigning.
‘Candidates do not openly request votes,’ said an election volunteer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ‘Instead, they meet with small groups of 20 to 30 people privately to establish their presence, address rumours and enhance their image to garner some level of support.’
On the first day of voting, violence was reported in some areas of Manipur as voting machines and polling booths were damaged. The opposition Congress Party called for a re-vote at dozens of polling stations, citing the vandalism and vote-rigging allegations.
Clashes have also broken out between armed groups while there were attempts to seize control of voting booths.
Pradeep Jha, Manipur’s chief election officer, acknowledged the voting boycott in Kangpokpi, but told Nikkei that the election process was ‘going smoothly’.
Others aren’t convinced. This year’s polls might have offered a chance to end the chaos, but the voting boycott, violence and polling booth destruction mean the ‘election process is entirely vitiated’, said Nandita Haksar, a human rights lawyer.
‘What we are witnessing in Manipur is something that has not been seen in India’s history,’ she added. ‘It is the systematic undermining and destruction of all institutions on which a democratic society can be built.’