Failure of Law and Governance in Manipur Due to Meitei–Kuki Conflict

Abstract

Every society relies heavily on the rule of law to govern and regulate the lives of its citizens to ensure their well-being. According to Hobbes, a stateless society develops as its law and order deteriorates; this is known as the Hobbesian theory. However, the absence of both public and private international law in society at large also contributed to the demise of democratic states and increased the
likelihood that one leader could turn them into authoritarian states. The ethnocentric conflict between the Kukis and Meiteis, two distinct populations, stemmed from a variety of political, cultural, ethnic, geological, sociological, economic, and historical considerations, making Manipur, a small state in the northeast, prone to violence. Being a part of the Indian state and governed by the Indian Constitution, the violence has resulted in several constitutional rights being violated, including fundamental rights and duties, legal and civil rights, and so forth. Additionally, during the struggle, this state was already weakening the penalties of public international law for the welfare of nations worldwide. Many innocent civilian lives have been seriously put in danger, nearly destroying the state as a whole, as a result of the federal government’s and the states’ incompetence in failing to preserve
law and order and govern in time to manage the violence. Since the victims on both sides have lost many people during the conflict, most of them have even lost hope for their survival and future life.