Fresh incidents of violence were reported in Manipur on Tuesday night even as details about them remained sketchy, the state government’s security advisor Kuldiep Singh said over the phone from the state capital of Imphal on Wednesday.
“We are still in the process of gathering information on...[incidents of violence reported on Tuesday night] and will be able to give details by Wednesday afternoon,” said Singh, who was appointed after the ethnic violence erupted in the state on May 3.
Three houses were earlier burnt over the weekend and four people including a former lawmaker were arrested
Army and additional paramilitary forces have been deployed in the state to quell the violence and to help in rescue and relief measures. An internet shutdown across the state has been extended until May 26 while a curfew has been imposed in what has been described as “sensitive areas”. The curfew is relaxed for a few hours daily depending on the situation.
Clashes were triggered in Churachandpur on May 3 after Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF)’s solidarity march against a proposal for scheduled tribal status to the state’s majority Meitei community.
{{/usCountry}}Clashes were triggered in Churachandpur on May 3 after Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF)’s solidarity march against a proposal for scheduled tribal status to the state’s majority Meitei community.
{{/usCountry}}They claimed 73 lives, displaced over 30000, and left more than 200 injured. Meiteis predominantly live in the Imphal Valley and account for around 53% of the state’s population. The Kuki-Zomi tribes mainly live in the hill districts and comprise around 16% of the population and the Naga tribes form 24%.
On Tuesday night, the army also recovered a cache of arms from a vehicle in Senapati and arrested three people. It was not immediately clear whether the recovery had anything to do with the ongoing violence.
Earlier on Tuesday, ITLF, a conglomerate of tribes, submitted a memorandum to Kuldiep Singh seeking the separation of the state’s hill districts from Manipur.
Ten tribal Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar lawmakers, including seven from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, earlier this month first sought a separate state.
ITLF’s memorandum accused the Meitei community of destroying churches, burning houses, and killing people and said there was no possibility of peaceful coexistence between the communities.
“There is a clear cut partition of hill and valley people [Meiteis] as the tribals living in Imphal have now returned to the tribal areas and the Meitei living in the tribal areas have gone to Imphal. With the long history of resentment and discrimination, we the tribals feel that total separation from Manipur is the only solution,” the memorandum said.
ITLF sought the bodies of the tribal people killed in the violence. It added they are lying in morgues of hospitals in places such as Imphal. ITLF sought proper relief and rehabilitation of those displaced. It accused radical Meitei groups Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun of killing tribal people and destroying their homes.
The memorandum said activities of these groups should be stopped while demanding legal action against them.
Kuldiep Singh said he would forward the memorandum to the Union government for necessary action.
There has been growing resentment against the state government due to the curfew and internet shutdown for three weeks now.
Yambem Laba of a group seeking ST status for Meiteis said there is anarchy in the state. .”...people have run out of cash and there is a scarcity of essentials. Chief minister N Biren Singh has completely failed and should either resign or be removed.”