Corporatisation of Natural Resources Behind Manipur Trouble, say Left Leaders in Kolkata

Kolkata: Left leaders in Kolkata have claimed that land and natural resources are being corporatised in Manipur, leading to ethnic trouble, according to left leaders in Kolkata. They made these accusations at a three-hour dharna programme at the busy Moulali intersection in Kolkata. The protest began in the afternoon of July 24 and continued until evening.

The leaders also alleged that a primitive form of violence is taking place in Manipur, with women being particularly affected by it, over the last four months. They criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for maintaining a stoic silence on the issue for the longest time, asserting that they, as leftists, will not remain silent and plan to decentralise protests across the country against the violence in Manipur. 

Left Front Chairman Biman Basu presided over the event. Other speakers included Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State Secretary Md Salim, Party Politburo Member Suryakanta Mishra, CPI State Secretary Swapan Banerjee, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) General Secretary Manoj Bhattacharya, and leaders of all the left front constituents in the state, including Forward Block, RCPI Bolshevik Party, Marxist Forward Block, and Workers Party. In their speeches, the leaders unanimously demanded the resignation of the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, holding him directly responsible for the violence.

CPI(M) State Secretary Md Salim stated that planned riots are being orchestrated in Manipur. He criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party combine for attempting to divide the country based on caste and creed. They reminded the gathering of the treatment given to jawaharlal nehru University students who raised slogans for "Azaadi" (freedom) and were dubbed the "tukde tukde gang." Salim also asked whether similar protests in Manipur faced the same treatment. 

Salim accused the "double-engine government" in Manipur of failing to develop the state, leading to the pitting of one community against another to incite planned riots. He expressed concern that mobocracy is prevailing instead of democracy, and the state government is directly contributing to the cultivation of violence in Manipur. 

Furthermore, the senior Left leader alleged that BJP leaders are inciting youths from one community to commit violence against women from another community. Salim said that, like in West Bengal's Deucha Pachami, tribal lands are being handed over to corporates in Manipur as well. He urged the media to respond to the Manipur crisis, cautioning that the failure to do so would tarnish their reputation among the peace-loving people of Manipur.

CPI(M) Politburo Member Dr Suryakanta Mishra described the situation in Manipur as a tight slap on the concept of India. He explained that Manipur is home to both the majority Meitei Hindu community and several Kuki and Naga tribes. Until recently, they coexisted peacefully in Manipur, but a proposal to grant tribal status to the non-tribal Meitei community has been introduced to disrupt the state's social balance, he noted. 

Mishra held PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the riots in Manipur and raised questions about the presence of numerous arms in the hands of the rioters, which appear to be the automatic weapons used by the armed forces.

Left Front Chairman Biman Basu said they will hold dharnas in each state district. He emphasised Manipur's legacy of freedom fighter Irabat Singh and warned that the double-engine government has imposed ethnic violence on the people of Manipur. Basu also expressed concerns that if left unchecked, the ethnic violence could spread across the entire Northeast and be further driven by corporate interests seeking the region's natural resources.