Last update:November 18, 2024, 3:08 p.m. IST

Sources said the violence in Manipur had more to do with drugs, religion and support for Christianity, noting that a parallel drug economy worth Rs 60,000 crore was active in Manipur against a budget of the state of Rs 35,000 crore.

Vehicles were set on fire during violent protests in Manipur on Saturday. (PTI file)

Manipur’s destabilization toolkit is “clearly visible”, top intelligence sources told CNN-News18, stressing that the modus operandi was to attack infrastructure development and society, create a leadership crisis and to send more sophisticated weapons.

“There is a total breakdown of law and order with new tactics beyond any assessment for law and order agencies. This is a failure of intelligence at the grassroots level,” they said amid a fresh wave of violence in Manipur following the killing of 11 suspected militants in exchanges of fire with security forces. security.

Violence intensified the next day, with six civilians, including women and children, kidnapped by armed militants from the same area.

“The attackers on the Meitei civilians traveled 200 kilometers from Churachandpur to Jiribam and their movement went unnoticed. Previously, it was believed that Kukis would kidnap and release the civilians, but this murder tells a different story. Kidnapping, rape and murder are a war game on another level.”

They added: “The toolkit on kidnapping, murder and rape is designed in such a way that social unrest must ultimately be brought to an end. The Meiteis have no trust in the social machine, including the politicians in their community. Out of fear, local politicians are not seen with the community, leading to arson and attacks against them. »

The sources said the timing of the recent violence was also important. “The attacks began soon after Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma’s comments in the United States on the need for a ‘Christian nation’ of the Kuki-Zo people under unified leadership. His statement proposed consolidating the Kuki-Zo populations in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The statement outside India inflamed these groups across the border and they decided to launch the final assault for decisive action. »

CNN-News18 previously reported how different groups wanted to create a Christian state with the help of drug money.

Security agencies have also warned against escalation of the Kuki-Meitei war, saying there is an urgent need to contain it, otherwise “the North East will become a war zone”.

“Pushing towards the drug economy”

Sources said the violence in Manipur had more to do with drugs, religion and support for Christianity, noting that a parallel drug economy worth Rs 60,000 crore was active in Manipur against a budget of the state of Rs 35,000 crore.

“The Golden Triangle of drugs – Laois, Thailand and Myanmar – is responsible for the violence in Manipur. Myanmar’s drug cartel, which survives on its forests where opium and poppies are grown, has expanded into Manipur. Chinese businessmen are paying huge amounts of money to the people of Manipur and Myanmar to make Manipur a safe hub that can be used to transport drugs across India. Large quantities of methamphetamine, ketamine and other synthetic drugs continue to be produced and traded globally from the Golden Triangle region,” they said.

The sources added that the Kukis are Christians and enjoy enormous support from the Christian world as well as international bodies.

“Several organizations are working in the North East, from Mizoram to Tripura, to create a separate state on the basis of religious identity. Mizo National Front (MNF), National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), Hmar People’s Convention (HPC) and Chin National Army (CNA) are separatist organizations present in the states of Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and in Chin State of Myanmar. All of these groups have different goals but share ethnic and religious ties. »