Manipur's history since joining India in 1949 has been marked by political unrest. The state's location in India's strategically sensitive northeast region along with internal reorganisation efforts, has been a source of ongoing tensions in the region.
The British annexation of Manipur and its neighbouring hills created two zones: directly ruled areas and those with some autonomy. This colonial policy of drawing boundaries fuelled tensions between the Kuki and Meitei communities. The Kuki tribes were the people residing in the hills whereas the Meitei tribe consisted of people living in the plains. The Meitei, being the established power in the valley, exercised dominance whereas thr Kuki tribe was treated as an oppressed group by the British. (Guite, 2014) This colonial process of tribe making got further embedded in the political discourse of Manipur that followed post India’s independence.
The post colonial redrawing of states has had the biggest impact in shaping the lives of the tribal communities, which are now brutally against each other. Violence in Manipur took a sharp turn in May 2023, when the government declared Meitei as a Scheduled Tribe. The violence unfolded with women at the centre of the conflict. As Ann Ticker draws our attention to the concept of gender symbolism, one can readily see it playing out in the colonial efforts across geographies. Colonialism was a masculine project, where men travelled to colonies to learn about the civilisation,s conducting scientific research in order to govern better (Parashar, 2017). This male-driven enterprise can be seen reflected in the actions of Meitei men as well. Their efforts to marginalise and demonise the Kukis through violent means with this historical pattern, turns this ethnic conflict into a masculine endeavour.
According to Shepherd, acts of violence that define gender roles also define the state's role. When the state uses violence, particularly when it fails to ensure security for all, it reinforces a certain image of itself. Violence directed at Kuki women reinforces traditional gender roles. It reinforces the idea that women's bodies are battlegrounds and that their vulnerability to ideas like dignity and sacrifice are product/productive of physical violences. (Shepherd, 2009) Women’s bodies were the canvas of this armed insurgency. To defend their position and seek revenge from the Kuki tribe for protesting against the reservations, the Meitei men assaulted Kuki women to humiliate the entire community.
Feminist theory draws our attention to how women are considered as the honour and pride of a community which is used to build a narrative that “justifies” subjugating women of the rival community in the case of wars and conflicts as a revenge.(Roberts, 2008) In the case of Manipur, the intersectional identities of gender, class and ethnicity put women at the forefront of the aggressive protests.The threat object here is both the state system as well as non-state armed groups. Concerns regarding accountability are raised by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which gives security forces in Manipur extensive authority. The power relations between these two groups works against the minority tribe.
From a postcolonial lens we see the legacy of the empire as an ongoing phenomenon. The hierarchies and religious divides still persist in the everyday lived experiences of people belonging to post colonial states. Kuki tribes are viewed as a threat due to their religious identity, which comprises a christian majority. (Census, 2011) Their racial categorisation overlaps with the gendered violence in this issue of security. In addition, the Kuki tribe is often associated with drug trafficking activities, which fuels the state led narrative of this tribe as being a threat to the harmony of the people residing in the state of Manipur. The government act declaring Meitei as a Scheduled Tribe brings into question the dominance asserted by both the state and the men of the Meitei tribe upon the women.
As pointed out by Shepherd, the security of the most marginalised individuals would mean the security of the post colonial women as they are both structurally and historically been the referent object of human security. (Shepherd, 2009) The violence meted out to the women in Manipur is not just an issue of humiliation or revenge but it violates their fundamental right to security.This brings into light the threats that women encounter in areas of war. Shepherd’s approach directs us to broaden and deepen the parameters of security for a more inclusive approach in post-colonial set ups by concentrating on the security of marginalised women.
Citations
GUITE, J. (2014). Colonialism and Its Unruly?—The Colonial State and Kuki Raids in Nineteenth Century Northeast India. Modern Asian Studies, 48(5), 1188–1232. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24494673
Shepherd, Laura J. 2009. ‘Gender, Violence and Global Politics: Contemporary Debates in Feminist Security Studies’. Political Studies Review 7 (2): 208–19.
Parashar, Swati. 2016. ‘Feminism and Postcolonialism: The Twain Shall Meet’. Postcolonial Studies 19 (4): 463–77
4. Census 2011 India. (n.d.). https://www.census2011.co.in/
Thank you for this post, Vanshika. It was eye-opening to read about the ongoing violence in Manipur, which the Indian government frequently ignores when dealing with internal matters. The Meitei community's practice of everyday violence against the Kukis is rooted in colonial 'divide and rule' ideology. The idea of dividing groups based on religious and cultural identities poses tremendous risks to India's minority communities. I appreciate how you used the postcolonial perspective to better explore the subject of insurgencies in Manipur. Looking at this issue via a feminist lens also helps to evaluate the gender-based aspects of a crisis in which Kuki women are subjected to physical assaults perpetrated by the Meitei men largely in order to shame the entire…
Thank you Vanshika for such an insightful blog. The Kuki women have been facing the brunt of oppression when analysing both from a post-colonial lens and the feminist lens. It is interesting how you bring in intersectionality here. I do agree with you that acts of violence that define gender roles also define the state's role.