Narendra Modi under pressure after Manipur state violence

2023-08-10 06:13:01

► What is the situation in the state of Manipur?

Glued to the Burmese border, this mountainous state of around three million inhabitants has been the scene of violent clashes since May. The Kukis, a minority and mainly Christian ethnic group, are opposed to the Meiteis, the majority – 53% of the state’s population – and of Hindu religion. “In this region, there has been an ethnic conflict for years. Especially on the question of land ownership. But religion did not come into play. explains Bishop Felix Machado, Archbishop of Vasai, in the west of the country, and specialist in interreligious dialogue.

A High Court decision of the State ignites the powder in the spring by granting the Meiteis privileges reserved for minority groups, such as jobs in the public administration. On May 3, 80,000 people gathered at the call of a kuki student union to protest against this decision. The demonstration degenerates. “This is the starting point of the violence”, says the archbishop. Since then, armed clashes between the two groups have claimed 150 lives and 60,000 people have had to flee. More than 200 churches were burned as well as several dozen Hindu temples. A curfew is in place and the internet has been cut almost continuously for three months, making it very difficult to obtain information on the situation there.

► Why did the oppositions demand the vote of a motion of censure?

Manipur’s government comes from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Like everywhere in India, he uses Hindu nationalist rhetoric during his election campaigns. In this state, Chief Minister Biren Singh used the fear of a population increase of Kukis thanks to Burmese immigration to get elected in 2022. Oppositions to Prime Minister Modi believe that this speech played a role in triggering the violence, but that it is above all the government’s inaction to put an end to it that is in question.

“Looking at his attitude today, I think of his in 2002 during the riots in Gujarat. He was silent and let the crowds do their thing, remembers the Indian political scientist Balveer Arora. When you are in power and you don’t show up, the street sees it as an authorization to continue what it is doing. » That year, violence between Hindus and Muslims killed several thousand people in this state then led by Narendra Modi.

►What consequences for Narendra Modi and his government?

The motion of censure, discussed since Tuesday August 8 and which must be voted on Thursday August 10, is it likely to succeed? « Non », replies the political scientist without hesitation. With more than 300 seats held by BJP members, out of the 543 in the Lok Sabha, India’s national assembly, it is very unlikely that the oppositions will muster enough votes to bring down the government. Their objective is above all to make a Prime Minister express himself “not very talkative in Parliament”. On the subject of violence in Manipur, Narendra Modi spoke only once, in July, after the broadcast of a despicable video showing two Kuki women forced to parade naked in the street.