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Meiteis not to celebrate Ningol Chakouba in solidarity with Manipur victims
Ningal Chakouba is celebrated on the second lunar day in the Hiyangei month of the Manipur calendar with the theme of strengthening the bond of love between married women with their paternal families
The people from Meitei community in Assam have decided not to celebrate Ningol Chakouba, one of their most important festivals, this year to express solidarity with the victims of the ethnic violence in Manipur, according to some senior members of the community.
They said that Meiteis across Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Bangladesh are not celebrating this festival this year for the same reason.
The chief advisor of Manipuri Youth Front of Assam (MAYFA), Seram Herajit said that for the first time they are not celebrating Ningol Chakouba and this will be a part history.
“In this festival, we celebrate the presence of women in our lives but for last seven months, our sisters in Manipur are suffering. They are being attacked, losing family members and they are living in shelter homes. We cannot ignore this, so we have asked each Meitei living in Assam to avoid Ningal Chakouba,” Herajit told HT on Wednesday.
Ningal Chakouba is celebrated on the second lunar day in the Hiyangei month of the Manipur calendar with the theme of strengthening the bond of love between married women (Ningol) with their paternal families.
Chairperson of Manipuri Development Council, Assam, Reena Singh said that during this festival, married women are invited to their parental home for a feast (Chakouba). Male members of the family arrange everything, and they also buy gifts for the women (sisters and daughters).
Reena said that this is one of the oldest celebrations of their community and the women wait for this day entire year.
“This gives us a chance to spend beautiful time with our parental house but this year we are not happy. Our sisters are being assaulted in Manipur, we cannot stand with them physically, but our solidarity is with them,” she said.
Reena said that most of the Meitei families in Assam didn’t celebrate Deepavali for the same reason this year.
“We lit diyas and did prayers for our sisters and brothers in Manipur. We didn’t cook special food and didn’t even use other lights at home. We hope that the dark phase in Manipur will be over soon, and we’ll celebrate festivals after that,” she said.
Social activist and advisor of All Assam Manipuri Students’ Union (AAMSU), Kamalakanta Singha said that not only in Assam, but Meiteis across Northeastern states are following the same.
“There are stories regarding Ningol Chakouba in our history and it is sad that we are not celebrating this. But whatever our sisters are facing in Manipur is heartbreaking,” he said.
According to him, more than 3 lakh Meitei people live in Assam and most of them celebrate this festival every year.
The ethnic violence in Manipur between Meiteis, who are in majority in Imphal Valley, and Kukis, who dominate several hill districts, since May have claimed 178 lives and displaced 50,000 plus persons.
