After the poll-bound state of Bihar, the conflict-ridden state of Manipur is gearing up for the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Photo Electoral Rolls.
In a state where ethnic conflict between the majority ethnic group, the Meiteis, and a major tribal group, the Kukis, have left thousands of families displaced and their houses and properties destroyed, razed and gutted, the SIR exercise that aims for house to house verification of voters has triggered many concerns.
The preparations for the drive began with a three-day training session for Assembly Level Trainers (ALTs) in the state capital of Imphal on June 30, a week after the ECI notified the SIR for Bihar. The ECI has since then conducted training programmes for ALTs, Booth Level Officers (BLO) and BLO supervisors at assembly constituencies in more than half of Manipur’s 16 districts over July.
The SIR exercise, which is now being implemented in the poll-bound Bihar, has already triggered major political controversies around fears of large scale disenfranchisement of the marginalised people. Most of India’s opposition parties have compared the SIR drive with the citizenship screening exercise in the form of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Supreme Court of India is hearing a set of petitions challenging the SIR exercise, especially regarding the list of admissible government-issued documents necessary for asserting one’s citizenship, which gives one their voting rights.
The importance that the ECI lays on such training programmes in Manipur becomes clear from the language of notices issued for such events—they came with the warning that the training sessions must be attended “compulsorily without fail” and every absence “will be viewed seriously as per Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 without any further notice.”
Political Response
Representatives of the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA) have attended meetings between the poll panel authorities and political parties. During such meetings, the parties’ suggestions on acceptable documents for voter verification were sought. Appointment of Booth Level Agents, a step from political parties necessary for carrying out SIR, was also discussed.
On July 25, the Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Manipur convened a session on the “upcoming pre-revision of electoral rolls” and the subsequent “house-to-house verification”, in which representatives of different political parties were present.
None of the political parties have officially commented on the exercise. Despite repeated attempts, Bimol Akoijam, the Congress MP from Inner Manipur, could not be reached for his comments.
“We are waiting for the developments in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, we are airing our concerns during such meetings with the election authorities,” says a Congress legislator from Manipur who did not wish to be named.
The MLA added that their party’s representatives have insisted during such meetings that the Aadhaar card needs to be included in the list of admissible documents because tribal people in many areas may not have the 11 documents specified in the SIR list.
While the supreme court has recently twice asked the ECI to include Aadhaar and voter ID card in the list of admissible documents, the ECI is yet to inform the court of its final decision.
Allegations of illegal immigration from Myanmar, involving members of the Kuki-Chin ethnic group who live on both sides of the Indo-Myanmar international border, was among the major triggers for the ethnic conflict that devastated large parts of Manipur by throwing the state into a state of civil war.
Meitei Hindus make up more than half of Manipur’s population, and the Kukis, who are mostly Christian, make up roughly one-fifth of the population. While the Meiteis have lived in the Imphal valley for centuries, same as the Nagas in the Nagaland-bordering northern hills of Manipur. However, the Kukis started settling in Manipur’s southern hills, which borders the neighbouring Zo-majority state of Mizoram and Myanmar, from the 19th century.
The views of the Nagas, who too are mostly Christians, align with the Meteis on some issues and with the Kukis on some others.
The Meitei civil society organisations have long been demanding an NRC-style citizenship screening exercise to weed out "foreign infiltrators”. However, they are yet to form their opinions on the SIR exercise. “We are still trying to understand the ECI’s method,” said a member of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a joint body of Meitei civil society organisations.
While Naga civil society organisations are yet to air their views, members of Kuki civil society organisations and rights activists have started raising concerns, citing the extraordinary situation that Manipur is undergoing since the deadly ethnic conflict broke out in May 2023.
Kuki Concerns
“Given that the situation is far from normal, the ECI needs to exempt Manipur for SIR until some mechanism is derived to ensure the displaced people do not end up being disenfranchised and branded as foreigners,” says Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Manipur-based organisation of the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar ethnic groups, collectively called the Zo people.
In a statement issued on July 31, the The Manipur Tribals’ Forum, Delhi (MTFD) —an influential Kuki organisation—appealed for “sensitivity, inclusivity, and transparency in the conduct of this important democratic exercise.” They also demanded recognition of alternate documents in lieu of lost identity or address proofs due to the conflict.
They highlighted that “normalcy is yet to return and thousands of members of the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribal communities remain displaced from their ancestral homes.”
“The SIR should not be allowed to proceed in a manner that unintentionally legitimises the outcomes of violence and displacement,” the statement said, urging people to remain vigilant and proactive.
They called upon civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in Kuki-Zomi-Hmar administered areas, including village authorities, student bodies, youth organizations, and women’s groups, to take up this matter “with the utmost seriousness and urgency.”
The CSOs “must immediately begin” consultations with stakeholders on how best to coordinate voter protection and data verification, it said, adding that every effort should be made to ensure that displaced persons are identified, documented, and supported in safeguarding their electoral rights.
The group said they fully understand and support the need for maintaining up-to-date electoral rolls as a constitutional imperative, but urge the authorities “to take into account the extraordinary ground realities before proceeding with any revisions.”
They argued that “tens of thousands of Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribals” remain displaced, many of them living in relief camps or are sheltered outside Manipur, having lost access to their homes, official documents, and local administrative services.
In such a situation, any electoral exercise that does not account for the displaced population risks widespread disenfranchisement and will inadvertently deepen the sense of exclusion already felt by the tribal communities, they said.
They suggested a “phased and trust-based approach” only after peace and stability in all conflict-affected zones have been restored, with concrete steps taken toward resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced tribal families. They also asked for confidence-building measures, “including the establishment of neutral mechanisms and observers, to ensure transparency and fairness in the verification process.”
