Why the continuing violence in distant Manipur is uniting political rivals in Kerala

On Thursday, 14 July, RSP leader and Kollam MP NK Premachandran staged a one-day hunger strike seeking to draw attention to the issue.

At the beginning of this week, the IUML said it would send a delegation consisting of four of its MPs to the northeastern state.

As nearly 42 percent of Manipur’s population belongs to the Christian community, several representatives of the Catholic church in Kerala have come forward to criticise the Union government in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular for the manner in which the situation in Manipur was handled.

As Kerala, too, has a significant Christian population, the issue was immediately taken up by the political parties.

Related: Manipur violence and UCC push irk pro-BJP Christian leaders

‘Deafening silence’ 

RSP leader Premachandran sat on a one-day hunger strike at Chinnakada in the Kollam district.

RSP Central Secretariat member and former minister Shibu Baby John and Congress leader Bindu Krishna were also present at the concluding session. Various representatives of the Christian community were also in attendance.

“Our intention is to build political pressure on the Union government. Despite the brutal violence [in Manipur], there is a deafening silence from the government and the prime minister of the country. As a Parliament member, I have the duty to extend solidarity to the people of Manipur and amplify the voices of the people so that they reach the government,” Premachandran told South First.

In the evening, addressing the crowd, Premachandran hailed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for visiting violence-hit Manipur.

According to Premachandran, it is this visit that brought the attention of the world to the ongoing violence in the state.

Also read: ‘BJP targeting Christians in Manipur, courting them in Kerala’

IUML delegation in Manipur

A delegation of IUML leaders headed by party president Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal is currently on its visit to Manipur.

MPs including ET Muhammed Basheer, PV Abdul Vahab, Abdul Samad Samadani, and Navas Kani, as well as IUML national secretary Khorum Anis Omer were part of the delegation.

Announcing the delegation on Sunday, PK Kunhalikkutty said: “The community that is in crisis in Manipur may be Christians, but considering the secular values of India, there is a need for the whole country to stand united with them irrespective of religious and political differences,”

According to Kunhalikkutty, this urgency led the IUML to send its “highest delegation” to Manipur.

Its members also met Manipur governor Anusuiya Uikey and discussed the situation prevailing in the state.

‘Fear, anxiety among students’

CPI(M) leader AA Rahim on Tuesday sought the Union government’s intervention to transfer students of Manipur University, who have been affected by the violence in the state, to other Central varsities to complete their studies.

Earlier, a joint delegation from the CPI and the CPI(M) visited the state. The team included Rajya Sabha members from Kerala John Brittas and Binoy Viswam.

In a letter addressed to Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, the Rajya Sabha members said students of Manipur University were currently enduring harrowing experiences as a result of the demands for document verification based on ethnic affiliations by radical groups within the university campus and hostels.

“These demands have instilled fear, anxiety, and a sense of discrimination among the students. What is more concerning is the targeted destruction inflicted upon the students and their belongings. Mobs comprising these radical groups have looted or burned almost all the hostel rooms at Manipur University, specifically targeting items belonging to the tribal community,” said Rahim.

In the letter, he requested the Union minister to take immediate and proactive measures to facilitate the transfer of the affected students to other Central universities across the country with the utmost urgency, minimising any further disruption to their education.

Rahim said the “deliberate sabotage of personal property”, including research materials, personal computers, books, and theses, has inflicted mental agony upon all the students staying in the hostels.

He also added that the students of Manipur University are experiencing a multitude of challenges due to the internet ban, which has resulted in a significant educational setback, widening the already existing disparities in access to quality education.

Also read: Manipur court summons University of Hyderabad professor

Christian demographics in Kerala

Going by the 2011 census, Christians accounted for 18.38 percent of Kerala’s population, Muslims constituted 26.56 percent, and Hindus 54.73 percent. ​Among the Christians, the Catholics form the single-largest entity.

The BJP had high hopes when a sizeable section of the clergy in Kerala considered radical Islam a common enemy of Hindus and Christians.

Till Manipur started burning, the Church leadership, in general, felt getting closer to the BJP and the Union government would help it benefit more from minority welfare programmes.

The Church has a long tradition of supporting the Congress in the state, but a section of its leaders felt the party had become a spent force, with remote chances of returning to power.

In an earlier interview with South First, Congress leader and Kerala Assembly’s Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said: “The Christians in Kerala are now watching who are reaching out to the Manipur people. They know the difference between the approaches of Modi and Rahul Gandhi.”

He added: “The Congress and Rahul are reinforcing their inclusive vision in Manipur, which would influence the Christians in the state. Minorities in Kerala would stand with the Congress forever.”

(With PTI inputs)