Military Force Not Solution to Manipur Conflict, Dialogue Is Key: Rijiju

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said lasting peace in Manipur can be achieved only through dialogue among the warring communities and not through military force, stressing that the Centre cannot use the military to end the conflict.

Addressing a conclave organised by the Assam-based Pratidin Media Network, Rijiju said the Meitei and Kuki communities, as well as the Naga and Kuki communities, must engage in talks to find an amicable solution to the prolonged conflict.

“I have a simple formula. Surrender arms, and peace will automatically come. We cannot use the military because its side effects are huge,” he said, urging all armed groups to abjure violence and surrender their weapons.

Rijiju said there could be no development without peace and appealed to the fighting groups to resolve their differences through dialogue. The Manipur conflict has continued intermittently for more than three years.

The minister also reflected on the history of militancy in the Northeast, saying “humiliation and insult” of smaller communities by successive governments after Independence contributed to the emergence of militant groups.

Recalling an incident from the 1990s, Rijiju said he and other students were allegedly insulted when they went to meet then Union Home Minister S B Chavan as part of a student delegation. He said such experiences contributed to frustration among people in the region.

While asserting that there can be no justification for militants taking up arms in a democracy, Rijiju said it was also necessary to understand why people took up arms.

He said the Northeast had undergone significant transformation over the past 12-and-a-half years under the Narendra Modi government, claiming that more than 10,000 militants have surrendered and joined the mainstream during this period.

Rijiju said the region was no longer isolated and neglected and was increasingly becoming an engine of growth for India, though isolated incidents could undermine the progress made.