That the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Manipur is finding itself friendless does not come as a surprise. The National People’s Party has withdrawn support from the BJP government, delivering a second jolt to the N. Biren Singh dispensation after the Kuki People’s Alliance walked out last year. These developments are unlikely to affect the stability of Mr Singh’s government. But the acts are rich in symbolism. The reason cited for ending their support by both these former allies remains the same: the ethnic conflagration that continues to singe the troubled state. Imphal erupted recently after the abduction of six Meitei civilians — all of them are believed to be dead — by suspected Kuki-Zo militants from a relief camp; Kuki-Zo organisations had charged the Central Reserve Police Force personnel of killing 10 village volunteers in the melee. The surge in violence prompted the Union home ministry to reimpose the contentious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in six police stations in the Valley, a move that has been resisted by the Meiteis given this legislation’s bloody legacy in Manipur.
Mr Singh’s government has, consequently, put in an appeal for the AFSPA’s withdrawal from these police stations. A Kuki-Zo organisation has, however, called upon the Union home ministry to extend the AFSPA to 13 police stations in the Valley that are out of its ambit.

The Centre’s response to the fresh bout of violence in Manipur reveals its paucity of ideas to restore peace. Worse, it appears that the Narendra Modi government — the prime minister is yet to visit the state — seems keen to view the trouble as a law and order issue. The truth is deeper than that. Persistent ethnic fault lines fanned by competitive politics have resulted in the simmering of subterranean tensions for years. The judicial granting of the scheduled tribe status to Meiteis, resulting in a counter-mobilisation by the Kuki-Zo community, proved to be the proverbial spark that set off the flames. Since then, administrative ineptness and political machinations have compounded the problems. The militarisation of rival communities, the rupture in civil society solidarity, differences between the police and the army and, above all, the lack of political will to bring peace have meant that Manipur continues to burn.