Exercise leadership to end violence: Mizoram CM writes to Manipur counterpart

The violence broke out on Wednesday during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district to protest the demand of non-tribal Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal Valley, for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status

Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga wrote to his Manipur counterpart N. Biren Singh Thursday and urged him to exercise his leadership to bring an “end to the violence” and also assured the cooperation of the government and the people of Mizoram.

Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga (Twitter/@CMOMizoram)

This comes following tensions that erupted in various districts of Manipur during the past week that led to violent clashes between the tribal communities.

In his letter, Zoramthanga said the recent events in Manipur have shattered the calm in the Northeast.

“I write with reference to recent events in Manipur that have made it to the national news headlines and have shattered the peace in the Northeastern region,” read the letter.

He said, “As the chief minister of Mizoram, a lifelong neighbour that has much in common with Manipur in terms of history and culture, I am deeply pained by the violence that has flared up in parts of your State and the underlying tension between the Meitei community and tribals there.”

“At a time when our two States are already facing issues as a result of the political situation in Myanmar and Bangladesh and the lingering effects of COVID-19, including the prospect of a new wave with more and more cases being detected, such violence only makes things worse,” Zoramthanga added.

He also appealed to Singh to exercise leadership and reach out to all parties involved to try and bring an end to the “senseless violence”.

“I urge you to exercise the kind of leadership that the people of your own State know you are capable of and reach out to all parties involved to try and bring an end to this senseless violence. Towards this, I assure you of the highest cooperation of my government and the people of Mizoram as we pray for reconciliation and healing in Manipur,” his letter further read.

Manipur CM on Thursday blamed “prevailing misunderstandings between two sections of society” for the violence in the state during protests against the inclusion of the majority Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

Singh said he spoke to his Mizoram counterpart, Zoramthanga, over the phone about the situation in Manipur. He added he told Zoramthanga the situation was because of the misunderstanding and communication gap between the two communities.

Singh further appealed for peace and against allowing communal harmony to be disturbed.

Meanwhile, Mizoram’s lone Rajya Sabha MP, K. Vanlalvena, has written to Union home minister Amit Shah and appealed Centre’s intervention to put an immediate end by stopping the Manipur government from trying to convert the tribal land into forest reserves and to restore peace in the region.

He said that if the present situation is not swiftly resolved, it could lead to communal disturbances in the whole of the Northeast states.

Following the clashes, the Indian Army and Assam Riffle personnel, deployed in the violence-hit areas, evacuated more than 7,500 civilians, following clashes and arson against the inclusion of the majority Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. The relief and rescue operation continued through the night. Flag marches were also conducted to keep the situation under control.

The violence broke out on Wednesday during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district to protest the demand of non-tribal Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal Valley, for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The Manipur government has imposed a ban on mobile internet services across the state for five days.