Indian Defence Review

Drugs Trade: The Golden Triangle

If the directions of the High Court for inclusion of Meiteis in the Schedule Tribes List was a trigger, the primary explosive was in the drive of the Manipur government to clear the illegal occupation of the Reserve Forests (RF) and the Protected Forests (PF). For long, the Manipur government has been jostling with the Hill Tribalsto vacate forest land under illegal occupation. Having given orders and multiple warnings, the government ultimately acted. The story behind the state government’s adamant stand on illegal occupation is rooted in the drug trade flourishing in North East and Manipur.

Readers may be aware of the ‘Golden Triangle’, a three-point hub in South East Asia that thrives in drug trade like opium and brown sugar. At the apex of this triangle are Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.

Raw opium from Poppy plantations in northern Myanmar would transport mule loads of opium to transit points near the border with Thailand and Laos. From there on, the opium moved to many destinations across South East Asia and other places. Opium also flowed into India through the porous border, and it became a profitable business as many youths were frustrated due to the lack of opportunities taken to drugs. Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland youth were the first in line and became habitual consumers.

As mentioned earlier, the border routes from Myanmar concentrated more towards Manipur due to better road infrastructure. The border town of Moreh in Manipur became the exchange hub for the drug trade. It was here in December 2021 that 500 crores of drug haul were seized from a house in Moreh by a Myanmarese drug trafficker. However, much before this seizure, due to the disturbed situation in Myanmar, the drug lords encouraged poppy production inside India on the hills of Manipur and Nagaland, where the farmers sought cash crops for sustenance. Poppy proved to be the ideal bet.

The refugees coming from Myanmar found a living in poppy cultivation in the forest areas. Most of these cultivations were illegal. It was a double whammy for Manipur authorities. It increased drug usage among its youth and led to illegal poppy cultivation. The golden triangle was getting extended into the Indian North East. Manipur from ‘Receiver’ became a ‘Producer’ of opium and brown sugar. The Churachandpur district in the southern tracts of Manipur was the worst drug-affected area. Churachandpur was where the violence started first in Manipur on 03 May 23.

Another effect of drug abuse was increased HIV cases due to infected syringes. Manipur houses 0.24% population of the country but has 8% of the total HIV cases. The BJP government of Manipur launched a ‘War on Drugs’ drive in 2018. In this fight elimination of poppy cultivation was an essential step. According to government statistics, 14,135 acres of illicit poppy cultivation were destroyed in the hills from 2017 to 2021. The seizure of forest land has to be viewed in light of this development in Manipur.

When the government’s drive took away the easy cash crop alternatives from the poppy cultivators, they opposed it, resorting to demonstration and violence. They argued that the Manipur government legislation of removing illegal occupation of forest land passed in their assembly violated the correct procedure, as it should have met the approval of the Manipur Hill Area Committee council as per the Schedule Matters of Article 371- C of the Presidential order of 1972. The war on drugs was an election promise of Chief Minister in 2017. The implementation of the promise has come to haunt him. Such a predicament of the Chief Minister indicates the complex and sensitive issues that haunt the state. It is hard to do a balancing act.

Conclusion

Manipur violence from 03 May 23 has bucked the trend of reduction in violence in the North East. It has seriously threatened the state government, the central government, and the security forces. If the history of insurgency in the state is any measure to go by, the situation is grievous now. It is on the cusp of exploding once again. It is a cauldron in which all the explosives elements are brewing simultaneously. The ethnic differences between the Meiteis and the Hill tribes: Kukis and the Nagas. The scheduled tribe status to the Meiteis, the removal of illegal occupation of forest land, the stoppage of poppy cultivation on the hills and the inability to provide an alternative to earning through cleaner cash crops.

The influx of refugees from a civil war-torn Myanmar state. The lurking presence of old insurgent groups waiting to take advantage, the refugee outflow into neighbouring states. Finally, opportunist politicians waiting to grab power by creating violence. All these are explosive elements simmering in the Manipur cauldron.

When it reaches critical mass and explodes, is anyone’s guess? It requires deft handling and concerted efforts of all parties interested in peace in Manipur to bring the temperature down. If their number is more than that inciting violence, Manipur has a hope for peace. But if this number dwindles, bad times will await this beautiful state.

Security Situation in North Eastern Region as a Whole from 2012 Onward (Click to enlarge)