RSS calls for dialogue to end Manipur clashes

There is "no place for violence and hatred" in a democratic setup, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said on Sunday (18 June), as it asked the Union government and law enforcement agencies to take "every possible step" to immediately stop ethnic clashes in Manipur.

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale described the ongoing violence in Manipur as "painful" and "worrisome". In a statement, he said the Sangh believes that the solution to any problem is possible only "through mutual dialogue and expression of brotherhood in a peaceful atmosphere."

At least 106 people have been killed since 3 May in Manipur, where ethnic violence erupted between the numerically dominant Meitei community — which forms 53% of the state population — and tribal communities, especially Kukis, who live primarily in the hill districts. Violent clashes broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on 3 May to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which is in power both at the Centre and in the northeastern state — has maintained a studied silence on the crisis, its ideological fount the RSS said there is an urgent need to "overcome the deficit of trust" between communities, citing it as the cause of the present crisis.

Hosabale said there is a need to rebuild ties between communities as he pushed for dialogue and intervention by civil society to put an end to the present crisis. "...It requires comprehensive efforts from both communities. It can be resolved by addressing the sense of insecurity and helplessness among the Meiteis and genuine concerns of the Kuki community simultaneously," he said.

Union home minister Amit Shah, who visited the state last month, held nine peace meetings with representatives of both Meitei and Kuki communities to broker peace, however, there has been no respite in violence.

Referring to the deteriorating law-and-order situation and the threat to life, the RSS functionary said the local administration, police, military and the central agencies should take every possible step to ensure the seamless supply of relief materials among the displaced along with "necessary actions to maintain peace and harmony."

"The continuous violence that is going on in Manipur for the last 45 days is extremely worrisome. The violence and uncertainty that started in Manipur after the protest rally organised in Churachandpur on 3 May at the time of the Lai Haraoba festival are to be condemned," he said.

"...It is very unfortunate that the spate of unrest and violence that erupted afterwards among those who have been living a peaceful life with mutual harmony and cooperation for centuries has not yet stopped," he added.

Hosabale said the RSS "stands with the displaced persons and other victims" of the Manipur crisis "numbering more than 50,000 during this period of terrible grief".

The Opposition Congress attacked both the RSS and the BJP-led government over the continued violence.

"After 45 days of continuous violence, RSS has finally issued a public appeal for peace and harmony in Manipur. The well-known duplicity of the RSS is in full display as its divisive ideology and polarising activities are changing the nature of Northeast's diversity," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on the crisis. "...What about its (RSS') famous former campaigner who now controls the administrative machinery at the Centre and in the state? Has he outsourced his responsibility of public appeal to the organisation that created him? When will the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, say or do something on Manipur? Is he just the propaganda minister and not the Prime Minister?" Ramesh added.

Last week, the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, the RSS frontal organisation that works with tribal communities, also issued a statement calling for the restoration of peace. Ram Chandra Kharadi, head of the front, said the central government has not been able to restore peace in the state in the wake of mutual distrust between the Kukis and the Meiteis. His statement was seen as an indictment of the local government.