Manipur I Manipur Drone Attack I "Biren Singh A Scapegoat" I Manipur MP Bimol Akoijam I Barkha Dutt

Barkha: With me here on our podcast is Dr. Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, a Congress Member of Parliament from Manipur. He's someone who has been a professor and has now moved into politics. Manipur has been in strife for more than a year, and I'm sure you entered politics because you felt you could bring about change. Do you feel that, given what's happening in your state, you've been able to do that, or do you sometimes wonder, "Where have I come?"

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: No, I think I have taken the right decision. Writing about my state or elsewhere in the country, being involved in public movements, participating in conferences, protests, marches, and public meetings—I've been doing this for almost three decades now. This crisis taught me that instead of staying outside, it’s far better to get into the system. I knew that would have some limitations, but I thought I could influence things from within. One other part is, by becoming an MP, I get access to people like you in the national media. It's not the same when you speak as a journalist or a professor—those platforms are more limited. I also realized there is a certain disinformation campaign in national media regarding Manipur. Our politicians are not speaking about what they ought to speak in Parliament. The very word "Parliament" comes from an old French word "parler," which means to speak, but the MPs are not speaking. When I spoke in Parliament for the first time, it was at midnight, and hardly anyone was present in the house. That’s the reality, but it gave me a chance to influence public opinion and decision-making. Politics is about testing limits, redrawing boundaries, and, of course, if my concerns for my state are suffocated and I’m not allowed to speak, then I will not stay just for the position of being an MP or for the elections. That’s not what matters. If I can’t bring the change, I’ll leave.

Barkha: For you, being in politics is specifically about bringing change?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: Yes, that's what every citizen must do. In a democracy, if we let certain people occupy power—people who come from a background of contractors and money—you have to be part of it. They make decisions that affect our lives. So, to participate and influence it, even a little, is crucial. This crisis in Manipur has revealed the estrangement of communities and the relationship between Delhi and Imphal. The divide between the mainland and the Northeast has been a concern of mine for over 40 years. I’ve observed it academically, through my PhD, and it's been a constant focus. The crisis has highlighted the serious vacuum in leadership in Manipur. There's no clear political culture, no one speaks up or leads the people toward a shared vision of what Manipur and India are all about.

Barkha: In a letter you released this week, you put the government on the mat and compared the situation in Manipur to the partition of India in 1947. Do you really think Manipur is experiencing a partition today?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: Yes, I do. This is a process of partitioning. Some might think it's hyperbole, but it’s not. I’ve studied the partition of 1947, and I’ve been part of a project under Professor Ashis Nandy that interviewed over 1,500 survivors of partition. I’ve also written about memory, trauma, and partition in my academic work. What is surprising is that the case studies from partition—these personal stories—reflect what’s happening in Manipur today. When I walked into the relief camps, the scenes reminded me of the partition—people displaced, violence, and political projects trying to shift populations. This is exactly what I’m witnessing in Manipur. The violence, the camps, and the trauma are eerily similar to what I’ve read and studied about the partition. I see the same process unfolding.

Barkha: You’re an MP from Manipur, one of only two MPs. Are you able to travel from Imphal in the plains to Churachandpur?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: No, absolutely not. And someone from Churachandpur cannot come to Imphal either. The state is divided to that extent. I was told that police forces don’t even get posted in Churachandpur or in some tribal areas. The chief minister can’t even go there. This division is exactly why I refer to this as a partition. It’s not just about geographic divisions; it's the complete breakdown of society, the complete estrangement of communities.

Barkha: Is there a real split in the region? How do you see the situation evolving?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: There is indeed a split, and it's a deep one. Manipur, as I’ve always seen it, was a body—a unified state. But what’s happening now is akin to dismembering that body. If you start slicing away parts of it, it feels like partition, not separation. The memory of partition is relevant because when people ask for a slice of Manipur, it’s felt just like it was in India. This is not separation—it’s a violent partitioning process that threatens to tear the state apart.

Barkha: We've seen an upsurge in violence recently, and there's been debate about the use of drones. The former DG of the Assam Rifles, General Ner, said he doesn't believe drones have been used to drop ammunition. You were very disappointed with his comments. Why?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: I'm not angry, but I am disappointed for two reasons. First, his statement reflects a lack of coordination among the security agencies. The Assam Rifles, the police, and the army all seem to be speaking different languages. This disorientation is one of the reasons why the violence has escalated. The second issue is the trust deficit. Different communities feel that the security forces are aligned with one side or another. The cookies believe the Assam Rifles are helping the Meitei community, and the Meitei community feels the police have sided with the cookies. General Ner’s statement only reinforces these divisions. The police have already collected evidence and are saying the attacks were real. We’ve seen drone footage and images showing hooks, which is evidence of drone usage. General Ner's comments make it seem like he's misinformed, and his vocabulary suggests he might be more sympathetic to one side than he should be.

Barkha: Do you think the police and the army are caught up in the polarized environment?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: Yes, I do. Both forces have been affected by the political polarization. It's not just the M community or the Kuki community; both sides criticize them. The biggest issue here is that both the police and the army are caught in this polarized conflict, whether they want to be or not. This, I believe, is a failure of politics. The security forces should not be caught up in these divisions, but the failure of politics has left them in a difficult position. The state's failure to maintain coordination and trust has exacerbated the situation.

Barkha: Is this a failure of politics, though? Isn't it the responsibility of both the police and the army to resolve this?

Dr. Bimol Akoijam: The security forces cannot be entirely free of blame. They are dealing with a challenging situation, but ultimately, it’s the failure of politics that has allowed this to spiral out of control. Security agencies are meant to maintain order, but they are caught in the middle of this conflict. I think both the police and the army are trying to do their job, but they are operating within a context where there’s no clear leadership, and political actors are failing to resolve the issue. This is why the situation has reached this point.

Barkha: Is it true, and certainly this was my experience from some time spent on the ground last year, that both the police and the Army have got caught up in the polarized environment, like a partition? We all saw, for example, many videos of them confronting soldiers of the Assam Rifles, and we saw many women of the Kuki community confronting the Manipur police. I have seen this myself. They also confront the Army. Now, when I asked General N, he said that, look, you think that we are criticized only by the M community, even the Kuki community criticizes us. We get attacked and criticized by both sides. This is what he said. Secondly, I'm asking you: isn't the biggest and the most dangerous thing that both of these security forces are today caught up in the polarization, whether they want to be or not? And what isn't this a failure of politics? The police and the Army, are they to fix this problem?

Dr. Angomcha Bimol Akoijam: I would not leave the officers in charge of these institutions completely free. I have observed that, you know, even the American troops who are involved in the Gulf or in Afghanistan dealing with counter-insurgency measures, they are not in the hot war, as in military vocabulary. The 'hot war' or the 'pure war', they are not there. So, they are in a very different situation, dealing with that kind of challenge. I think they have failed, especially the Assam Rifles. The Army has failed, the police have failed too. I have said that those people who are running these institutions—police, Assam Rifles, and Army—they're not in a hot war. This isn't a pure war. It calls for a very different kind of engagement, and I don't see that happening.

When the Army releases a video about MEA obstructing them, I think they should have gone through the unified headquarters and mediated by political staff. Because once you release such videos, it is slapped up by people in conflict, and used to demonize the other side, which aggravates the situation. They should have held it back. Their job, I saw Army officers doing this, which is completely unacceptable. What you expect is for senior police officers handling that kind of crisis to maintain calm and composure, absorb the things. You don’t tease people like that. In one of General N's interviews, he said, 'Look at that! Some people are pushing, that's part of the thing.' But he did it before, like this, before these women were pushing him. But you should not be going into that line of argument. Rather, you should be saying that why they should handle it like that. It's all agitated, everybody is charged up. The officers must maintain composure to deal with it. That is expected when you're not in a hot war. That’s my feeling about the whole affair.

The top officials who are handling these forces must be held accountable. Whatever they say, I’m saying it on your channel today. I’ve said this before: whether you like it or not, despite your presence, despite your saying that we don’t want to have more casualties, the fact remains that in your presence for 16 days, this conflict has escalated.

Bimol: 200+ people have died, 60,000 people have lost their homes. If you were assigned a peacekeeping force in Congo or Rwanda and you allowed this kind of slaughter, claiming it was to avoid bloodshed, would that not be an excuse? The fact is, you've failed.

Barkha: But who does the buck stop with?

Bimol: The buck stops at the door of the Prime Minister’s office. I have no doubt about it, but I'm saying that the officers were not able to handle it. Now, let me go to the second point: why is that? Because the Indian Army is one of the most respected professional forces in the world. They have experience with UN peacekeeping forces in other places, but here, 60,000 people have lost their homes right in front of their eyes. There are areas under AFSPA in this crisis as well, and they forget that there is CRPC 131, which enables them to act. A general said to me that there are many areas they can’t go into because they’re no longer AFSPA-designated areas. But he’s missing the point—there are non-AFSPA areas, and under CRPC 131, they are still supposed to act. There’s no excuse for this.

Barkha: So, are you saying that the failure of security forces is due to coordination issues?

Bimol: Yes, exactly. I've heard voices from the police and Assam Rifles telling me that there’s no coordination among the security forces, and many of these things happened despite their deployment. Now, the question is, is there something above them that is restraining the Army? That’s what we need to ask. The Indian Army would not behave this way if there was a clear political strategy. In a war, the Army headquarters and the DMO take over, and the politicians have nothing to do with it. But here, the Army is dealing with its own citizens, which makes it more complicated. It’s the political class that should be held responsible for this confusion in handling the situation.

Barkha: How do you see the role of the Chief Minister in this crisis?

Bimol: The Chief Minister’s role is crucial. At the beginning of the crisis, I realized something important: the appointment of Mr. Kuldiep Singh as Chairman of the Unified Command was significant. He was appointed as Security Advisor on May 4, a day after the flare-up, and as Chairman on May 31. He has an executive role in coordinating and directing security forces. The interesting part is that they removed the Chief Minister from this decision-making process. There was a power struggle between the Chief Minister and the Assam Rifles. For example, the Chief Minister ordered something, but the Assam Rifles did not follow it. There was even a confrontation. This reflects the chaotic nature of the institutional machinery.

Barkha: So, you're suggesting there’s a power struggle and that the state government has been sidelined?

Bimol: Yes, that’s right. I started asking questions about who is in charge of law and order in Manipur since June. The state government seems to have lost control, and it's as if the government is ruled by proxy from Delhi. The orders are coming from Delhi, and the Prime Minister's office is playing a significant role. The Chief Minister seems to be a willing scapegoat in this situation. He has accepted that role, but he should have stood up and said, “I won’t allow my power to be taken away.” Instead, he didn’t even resign when it was clear he had lost control. Now, the real players are in Delhi, and the Chief Minister’s position is weakened.

Barkha: You're saying that the Chief Minister should have resigned?

Bimol: Yes, he should have. I said this publicly on national media. He should have stood up and resigned if he couldn’t handle the situation. But he didn’t, and now he’s playing a minor role while Delhi is in control. This has led to a fractured nature of governance, and the institutions are not allowed to function normally. Even Mr. Amit Shah said in Parliament that the Chief Minister is cooperating, but it’s clear that things aren’t working as they should.

Bimol: Why should we impose President's Rule? It's quite obvious. You appoint, dictate terms, and say appoint this, appoint that. The Chief Minister doesn't have command over the Unified Command to control the law and order situation, but he’s been propped up there. I said it's a convenient tool.

Barkha: What is the aim of propping him up?

Bimol: I said two things. This is protecting Mr. Modi and Mr. Amit Shah before the Lok Sabha election. Now, they are trying to pressure him. That's why he said this time. You remember that 100 days promise. Now, this 15th of September is the 100th day, so now let's see. I get the feeling that this new escalation of violence is connected to the fact that the central government must be doing something to intervene now fully, rather than playing it from behind.

Barkha: Let me ask you this. Just let me tell you something. If you've been following it, there was a press conference once. There was an outcry in Manipur, and the Chief Minister came out and said that he’ll take charge of the valley and the army is going to look after the hill areas. People were shocked. Is this already saying that this partition is one run by the Chief Minister, who is a man, and he is under Delhi?

Bimol: Yes, there has been an erosion of authority. It is very clear now that the CM doesn’t have control. The law and order situation is not under the state government, even though it's written on paper. The state government isn't in control. The Center is running everything, and the CM is just a figurehead. This is all part of a plan to weaken the state's autonomy and let the Center control everything.

Barkha: So what does that mean? You’re saying that the role of the CM is to be a convenient scapegoat?

Bimol: Yes, the CM becomes the scapegoat. The government of India is running things through Delhi, and the CM is just there to bear the blame. That’s why no one is pointing fingers at Modi and Amit Shah. The CM, in this case, is just a convenient figure to protect the central government, and this is why he hasn’t resigned. He should have stood up and said, "I won't allow my power to be taken away." But he didn’t do that.

Barkha: What do you make of the allegation that has resurfaced about the audio tapes and Mr. Biren Singh?

Bimol: I let me investigate it. It doesn’t matter to me. The more crucial part is why was this allowed? If the government of India thinks that law and order is completely gone, they should have done what is required. They didn’t do it, and the rest of the country has suffered. 60,000 people have lost their homes, and no one is holding the central government accountable.

Barkha: What about the weapons in the hands of civilians? Both communities—civilians are armed, weapons are looted. When you talk to the Kukis, they’ll say the Arambai Tangal controls the MLAs today. When you talk to the Meiteis, they say these are Kuki militants. This is the kind of language that has now entered our lexicon. What do you make of the armed civilian groups?

Bimol: That’s what I’ve been saying since the beginning of the crisis. People are armed to the teeth and roaming around. It’s like a civil war situation. I’ve been saying this, but no one is paying attention. You can see images on social media from May 3rd of people armed with AK-47s. Both sides are arming themselves, and it's escalating the violence. The state must assert control, but it hasn’t. I raised these questions in the national media in May 2023, saying the state should have intervened.

Barkha: The state failed to rein in the violence?

Bimol: Yes, exactly. The state failed to act. The state must assert its authority. The narrative that has been set is now about which community is the perpetrator, but we should be asking why the state allowed armed groups to roam around freely. That’s the real issue.

Barkha: As we close, where do we go from here?

Bimol: I think the crisis could go in two or three directions. First, we should constantly raise the question: why did the state fail to rein in the violence? The state must assert its authority. Secondly, I believe there's a larger plan behind this violence. There are vested interests trying to split Manipur and push for separation. The central government is part of that game, and that's why they didn’t act sooner. It’s all about power dynamics. If you resolve a conflict in this manner, the central government becomes the savior.

Barkha: You believe there are vested interests involved?

Bimol: Yes, I’ve been saying this from day one. There are groups who supported the BJP during the elections in 2017 and 2022. They were promised that their demands would be addressed if they helped the BJP. Now, the BJP is not doing anything, and there are affidavits showing these groups saying they helped the BJP but have been left in the lurch. This is all part of a larger game.

Bimol: So some X will come up as a savior of this community, why as a savior of this community? And they consolidate a position as a leader in the future to settle political dynamics. That’s a particular political project. Third, I realized that who benefited from this crisis all along, and the central government not intervening, I realized that BJP, particularly the Prime Minister and Home Minister, were spotless. CM fault. Communal. Nobody looks at this fact that why they didn’t intervene. Why did they not intervene?

Barkha: That’s a fundamental question in the state.

Bimol: Yes, if you find it out, then you will realize probably that they tried to have this image of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister clean, and all the fault can go to Mr. Biren. That is why Biren was so passionately defending Modi, despite the fact that he hasn’t given an appointment with him. He said, "What kind of a fair should I take to talk to the Prime Minister? You guys have abused him so much." Yeah, am I making sense?

Barkha: So he’s passionately defending him.

Bimol: Yes, so this is the game plan that I realized. But there are other issues like many observers feel that there is an illicit drug issue involved here, and many big players of the political class, not only in the state but outside of the state. I don’t know how true this is, but observers have been hinting at this, and that’s why this has... Let me finish it. Also, they are trying to finish the political armed groups among the Meiteis because they are the ones who refused to talk to the government of India. So, they think that some observers also feel that it is to neutralize them. Now, if successful, their frontal organization is not the only voice in Manipur. You have other armed groups, so they have successfully counterbalanced that kind of force.

Barkha: So there are various theories involved?

Bimol: Yes, there are various theories. Along with these theories, these are the issues. What we need to do is this: let the investigation go on, and whatever theory you explain, I’m still saying to you, please, through my letter, I have given a clear-cut message. It’s time for your LSA. Election is over. Whatever game plan you have to do, think of the future, take the healing process, and rein in. I’m still saying, rein in the violence, with decisive and judicious action. What they are doing is still playing games. You remove some village guards or MLAs. I talked to Kuldeep Singh on this, and there’s indication saying that whenever you remove these village guards from the peripheral MLAs, it is exactly those villages where the attack was launched.

Barkha: So, you’re saying that you need to crack down with a sense of judiciousness.

Bimol: Yes, not siding with any group. You should not come up as if you are siding with one group.

Barkha: It’s too grave a situation. I hope your passion and your anger are heeded. I hope that there is some improvement. Thank you so much.