Review of Nandita Haksar’s Shooting the Sun | Md Umar Faruque

BOOK REVIEW

Shooting the Sun: Why Manipur Was Engulfed by Violence and the Government Remained Silent
by Nandita Haksar

Speaking Tiger
ISBN: 978-93-5447-701-0
Year:2023
Price: Rs 399/-

Manipur has been engulfed in violence since May 3, 2023. So far, hundreds have lost their lives, countless homes have been destroyed, and thousands remain displaced in relief camps. The economy has collapsed, and the education system lies in ruins. What remains in Manipur now is a fragile hope for normalcy. People struggle to understand why the violence erupted and why it has persisted for so long in this remote corner of India. Confusion has gripped the minds of many, deepening the uncertainty that shrouds the state. In the latest development, the President’s Rule, under Article 356, was imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2025, with the state assembly placed under suspended animation but not dissolved.

Amid this turmoil, Nandita Haksar’s Shooting the Sun: Why Manipur Was Engulfed by Violence and the Government Remained Silent arrives as a timely and crucial intervention. The book delves into the complex interplay of issues that fueled the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities. Haksar is well-acquainted with Manipur’s socio-political landscape, having engaged with human rights issues in the region since the 1980s.

The causes of the violence remain a subject of debate, with multiple narratives attempting to explain its origins. The author meticulously examines these competing perspectives. While each of these issues could warrant a book of its own, Haksar convincingly condenses them into this volume, offering a comprehensive yet accessible analysis.

The opening chapter, titled Shooting the Sun, is the book’s main title. The author acknowledges that the phrase is borrowed from the Meitei epic Numit Kappa. According to the epic, there were once two suns—one was shot down, while the other retreated into a cave, plunging the land into darkness. Only after the people prayed did the sun emerge once more. Haksar draws on this imagery, stating that her book is written “in the hope that the sun will shine again over Manipur” (p.16).

In this chapter, the author challenges the claims that the Kuki-Zo community are ‘outsiders,’ ‘illegal migrants,’ or ‘foreigners’ and, therefore, the root cause of the ongoing violence—an argument largely put forth by sections of the Meitei community. Instead, Haksar contends that “the roots of this violence lie in identity politics” (p.24). She compares the situation to Chronicle of a Death Foretold, highlighting the irony that Manipur’s volatile atmosphere is so charged that a single spark could ignite a fire at any moment—yet no one seems willing or prepared to extinguish it.

The second and fourth chapters examine issues related to identity. The author acknowledges that Meitei and Kuki’s identities are fluid and complex. Multiple factors have shaped contemporary Meitei identity, which can be analysed through two primary perspectives: the claim to indigenous status and the demand for tribal identity. The author traces the reassertion of Meitei identity to the growing discontent against the Hinduisation that took place in Manipur during the first half of the eighteenth century. Hinduism, particularly its caste system, is often blamed for dividing the population between the hills and the valley, with those residing in the hills being regarded as ‘untouchables’ (p.32, 46). As a result, there is a strong tendency among the Meitei to reclaim a pre-Hindu identity—one that, they believe, existed before such social divisions. Despite this, followers of the pre-Hindu Meitei religion, Sanamahi, remain a minority, constituting only sixteen per cent of the total Meitei population.

A similar rationale underpins the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. They argue that they have historically remained a tribal group and now seek official recognition of that status. However, tribal communities view this demand as an effort to assimilate them, posing a threat to their distinct identity and existence.

The chapter also explores how identity politics has exacerbated hatred, particularly through the role of Meitei ‘extremist groups’ such as Arambai Tengol and the role played by Hindutva forces. Over time, the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities has taken on communal overtones. This transformation is one of the most significant aspects examined in this chapter, and three key points emerge from the discussion.

First, the nature of the conflict has been reframed—from a Meitei vs. Kuki ethnic clash to a Hindu vs. Christian communal strife. In this narrative, the Meitei are identified with Hinduism, while the Kuki are linked to Christianity, a perception largely propagated by Hindutva forces. Hindutva groups have openly expressed solidarity with Meitei extremists. Ironically, these extremists assert a pre-Hindu Meitei identity by following the Sanamahi religion (p.78).

Second, Meitei Christians have also become victims of this violence. Their churches have been destroyed, forcing them into a difficult position—whether to side with their fellow Christians in the hills (the Kuki) or with their ethnic kin in the valley. Ultimately, most Meitei Christians aligned themselves with the Meitei community.

Third, the destruction of Meitei Christian churches by Meitei extremists raises an important question: Why would they target their own ethnic group? One explanation lies in the intersection of identity politics and Hindutva ideology. On the one hand, the Meitei seek ST status. On the other hand, Hindutva groups have advocated for the revocation of ST status for those who convert to Christianity. It is likely that this ideological convergence influenced Meitei extremists to take action against Meitei Christians, seeing them as a potential obstacle to their broader political objectives.

In the fifth chapter, the author examines the highly controversial issue of poppy cultivation. Drug-related problems are not new to Manipur; scholars have long highlighted the visible impact of the Golden Triangle on the state. However, the present concerns, as discussed in the book, differ from earlier issues.

Currently, the Meitei community alleges that the Kuki are responsible for the illicit drug trade, claiming that they cultivate poppy in the hilly terrain. According to these allegations, poppy cultivation not only devastates the forest ecosystem but also generates income that is used to procure arms and exert political influence to further the Kuki community’s ethnonationalist objectives and, therefore, labelled them as ‘narcoterrorists.’ However, the author challenges this narrative, arguing that while data indicates the involvement of all major ethnic communities in the drug trade, the blame is disproportionately placed on the Kuki. Furthermore, the author suggests that poppy cultivation occurs predominantly in economically disadvantaged districts, where farmers turn to it not out of choice but as a means of survival in the face of poverty.

The sixth chapter shifts focus to the role of the state and central governments. While ethnic conflicts are not new to Manipur, the current violence is among the most savaged. The crisis has been exacerbated by a failure to bring the situation under control, raising the question of whether the violence is being deliberately allowed to continue. Does the state believe that the conflict will eventually subside on its own? The author directly hints at the complicity of both the central and state governments in prolonging the violence. The ethnic division within state forces, frequent clashes between central and state security personnel, and the state’s apparent sympathy toward extremist groups all supported the above argument.

In the following chapter, the author discusses several other critical issues, including the fallout from the creation of seven new districts in 2016, the demand for a Kuki homeland, debates surrounding the Anglo-Kuki War, the position of the Naga community, identity politics, and the role of insurgent groups. While these topics are essential to understanding the present violence, they must also be examined within a broader framework to grasp the full complexity of the conflict.

The geopolitical issues, which the author refers to as the Myanmar Factor, are discussed in the final chapter. The civil war in Myanmar has created a humanitarian crisis along the border, forcing many Myanmar citizens, particularly from the Chin and Kuki-Zo communities, to cross into India. However, the Indian government has refused to recognise them as refugees. In contrast to the central government’s stance, the Mizoram government has formulated its own policy to accommodate these refugees.

In Manipur, however, the situation is different. The author argues that “the burden of protecting the refugees has fallen on the Kuki community, which itself is economically poor” (p.226). The Meitei community has taken advantage of this legal ambiguity to label the Kuki as illegal refugees, pointing to the emergence of new villages in Kuki-dominated hill districts as evidence. However, the author refutes this claim, arguing that the increase in new villages is due to Kuki customary practices rather than an influx of refugees.

In the afterword, the author offers a list of recommendations for achieving lasting peace in the state. Among these, the most important is the suggestion to establish common cultural, social, and economic programs that promote unity. The author also emphasises the need to respect Manipur’s diverse cultures, languages, and rich history while preventing any form of divide-and-rule politics from taking root.

Despite the book’s comprehensive coverage of key issues, it has certain limitations. First, while acknowledging the role of the Muslim community in Manipur as a "peacemaker," the author not only overlooks the fact that this community has also been victimised in the conflict but also fails to recognise its crucial role throughout the crisis, particularly in a situation where state machinery are divided along ethnic lines.

Second, in analysing identity politics, the author misses a crucial aspect: the very ‘idea of Manipur.’ When and under what circumstances did this idea emerge, and why is it unravelling today? Additionally, the concept of emotional integrity—a long-standing principle in Manipur’s political discourse—is notably absent from the discussion.

Third, the book only discussed the conflict in a binary of Hindus vs Christians or Meitei vs Kuki. However, the author does not address another narrative, which argues that the conflict is fundamentally between those advocating for Manipur’s territorial integrity and those seeking to break it. This narrative has, in turn, fostered antagonism toward communities that wish to remain neutral.

Finally, the book relies heavily on secondary sources and lacks empirical evidence. Moreover, the absence of an index makes it more difficult for readers to navigate its extensive discussions.

(Review author: Md Omar Faruque, Research Scholar, CAS, Dept. of History, AMU, Aligarh, Email: umarfaruquech[at]yahoo.com)

Despite these limitations, the author cogently addresses several pressing issues that many believe are at the root of the ongoing violence. The book also reveals crucial facts and insights that were previously unknown, making it a valuable contribution to the discourse on Manipur’s current crisis.

(Author: Md Umar Faruque is a PhD Research Scholar at the Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University. His research interests encompass agrarian studies, political economy, and the contemporary political history of Northeast India)