Explained: The Link Between Manipur's Poppy Cultivation and Ethnic Clashes

The Kukis allege that the government has targeted them systematically using the "war on drugs" campaign as a cover.

In 2017, during N Biren Singh's first term as the chief minister, the Manipur government declared a "war on drugs". Poppy cultivation ever since has been its major target.

A day before the cycle of violence in Manipur started on 3 May 2023, the chief minister – in a series of social media posts – shared photographs of two alleged drug peddlers who were arrested from the hills, blaming Myanmar immigrants for the drug menace in the state.

According to data shared by the chief minister with The Hindu, out of Manipur's 28 lakh population, 1.4 lakh youth are affected by drugs.

He wrote, “To protect the state, the government has launched a green Manipur campaign, identified the occupied reserve forest lands, promoted fruits and vegetables farming and destroyed all the hidden poppy fields. The drive against narcotics is now in full swing."

Although there is a slew of reasons behind the widening of ethnic fault lines between Kukis and Meiteis in Manipur, the government's action against "illegal" poppy cultivation by destroying of poppy fields in the forest land, especially in the reserve and protected forests in the hilly areas – is an important one. We explain how.

What Has Biren Singh-Led Manipur Government Alleged?

Last month, on 18 May, the Centre and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Manipur government told the Supreme Court that the genesis of the 3 May violence in the state was the crackdown on "illegal Myanmar migrants' illicit poppy cultivation and drug business in the hill districts."

Opium, which is further processed to make synthetic drugs, is derived from poppy.

The Manipur High Court Bar Association told a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala that illegal migrants from Myanmar "indulged in violence after a crackdown on their illicit poppy cultivation and drug trade."

The association added that the agitation against a possible grant of the Scheduled Tribes status to the majority Meitei community was just a ruse, and the protest was actually against the crackdown on poppy cultivation.

Although the Manipur government has "denied targeting any particular community", its crusade to clear out poppy in the Kuki-dominated hills hurt the community directly. Add to this the "eviction drives" on the pretext of "preserving forests in view of the deteriorating climatic conditions." Both these factors affected the Kukis more than any other community in the state.

Why Are the Kukis Miffed?

Even in the run-up to the 3 May violence, the Kukis had alleged that Biren Singh's government had been targeting them systematically using the "war on drugs" campaign as a cover. They further claimed that the intention of the government was to remove them from the forests and their homes situated in the hilly areas.

In February, "eviction drives" were carried out in Churachandpur district, where a large number of Kukis live.

Dr Rojesh Seram, former president of the Manipur Students' Union in Delhi, told The Quint that the government adopted "eviction drives" in the reserved forests due to frequent forest fires and global climate change, including droughts in Manipur.

"This sudden drive predominantly started affecting forest-dwellers, consisting of mostly Kukis who are strongly opposed to the crackdown on poppy cultivation, among other tribes or communities," he added.

John Haokip (name changed), a banker from the Kuki community, told The Quint that the chief minister has repeatedly called Kukis "smugglers, poppy cultivators," and it has hurt the community.

On 3 May, the official Facebook page of the chief minister shared a news report on the seizure of 16 kg opium from Churachandpur with a message from him: “These are people who are destroying our generation. They are destroying our natural forests to plant poppy, and further igniting communal issues to carry out the drug smuggling business.’’

“He has attacked us repeatedly by calling us smugglers... They even started evicting us from our areas saying that we were destroying ‘protected forests, reserved forests’ by cultivating poppy in these areas. That’s not true,” John Haokip said.

Since 2017, the Manipur government has destroyed nearly 15,500 acres of poppy fields. Almost 85% of the area, according to official data released by the Narcotics and Affairs of Border (a unit under Manipur Police), lay in Kuki-dominated districts.

Why Poppy?

But why has there been a proliferation of poppy cultivation?

Manipur has a geographical proximity to the “Golden Triangle” region, which includes Laos, Thailand and Myanmar – a hotbed of drug trafficking and a major drug route.

Subir Bhaumik, in his book Troubled Periphery: Crisis of India’s Northeast, blamed the "Burmese drug lords" behind the poppy cultivation.

“The Burmese drug lords are encouraging tribal farmers to plant poppies. Unless these new plantations are promptly destroyed and gainful agricultural alternatives provided to the farmers, the India-Burma border will soon be dotted with poppy fields feeding the processing plants in western Burma," he wrote.

He noted that a rebel-druglord nexus is emerging the northeast in "a repeat of the Colombian scenario."

However, this is far more complicated.

Paolienlal Haokip, the BJP MLA from Saikot in Churachandpur district, pointed out that there is no church or civil society organisation in the hills that endorses poppy cultivation.

“All groups have issued advisories against such cultivation. It is the big investors from the valley who are the kingpins of this trade,” The Hindu quoted him as saying.

“It is easier to cultivate poppy with other crops. Moreover, farmers are driven to cultivate poppy in these areas due to the prevalent poverty, which can be attributed to decades of armed conflicts, insurgency, and ethnic violence that have crippled the state,” Lily Sangpui, a PhD scholar at the Department of Social Work, University of Mizoram, explained to The Quint.

Sangpui further explained that the cultivation of poppy acts like a “magic potion”.

“The cultivation of food crops alone are not enough in meeting the needs of rural tribal households. Under these conditions, people struggle to survive and vie for a better source of income. And poppy cultivation gives them that,” she elaborated.

And it is not just rewarding in terms of money and food security. It provides free access to credit/loans as well, Sangpui explained.

“We interviewed one poppy farmer and he told me that people do not hesitate to lend money to such farmers as they know that it will bring good yields from selling their crop (poppy).”

But Why Are There No Alternatives?

As Sangpui highlighted, a prime challenge is in finding alternative crops that could compete with opium in respect of profit, market, and price.

“Other cash crops have a longer growing season, while the poppy-growing season is of a shorter duration and with higher returns from the money that is invested that exceed other crops."

"Moreover, during one of our interviews with poppy farmers, we found out that poppy cultivation does not clash with paddy cultivation, and hence, there are more takers for it as a substitute for household income,“ she added.

However, on 15 December 2022, the Manipur government launched an alternative farming system to replace poppy cultivation in nine hill districts, namely Churachandpur, Pherzawl, Noney, Tamenglong, Senapati, Kangpokpi, Ukhrul, Kamjong, Tengnoupal and Chandel.

“It would take a couple of years to see if alternative farming will bring a change in the drug scenario of the state,” Sangpui added.