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At Manipur burial site, one-month-old Baby Issac who died alone at Imphal hospital
When violence broke out, the baby was due for surgery on May 6 at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences.
At the site of a mass burial site in Churachandpur’s Sehken, among the many victims of the Manipur clashes, a headstone says Baby Isaac, 1 month. The infant from the Hmar tribe is the youngest victim of ethnic clashes in the northeastern state. At least 187 have died and around 50,000 displaced in the violence that started on May 3.
Isaac was not killed by militants or burnt to death. He was not lynched by a mob. When violence broke out, he was already admitted and due for surgery on May 6 at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in state capital Imphal.
A day before his scheduled surgery related to a urological ailment, as violence spiralled out of control in Imphal, Isaac , his parents and all other tribals were evacuated from the hospital by security forces and taken to a relief camp. But with forces unable to hold families like Isaac’s for long at the relief camp, the people were shifted from Imphal to the hill districts for safety.
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Isaac died alone at a private hospital in Imphal on May 10 when he was admitted after developing medical complications at the relief camp.
With the family unable to traverse the 250km journey to Imphal because Manipur’s districts were divided on ethnic lines, the child’s body was kept with other tribal victims at a mortuary in RIMS all these months. Last week, security forces airlifted the bodies, bypassing the Meitei-dominated areas of Imphal and Bishnupur and brought them to Churachandpur for a mass burial.
Isaac’s father Ruolneithang Puruolte, who spoke to HT over the phone, narrated how they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, which led to his son being the youngest victim of the ethnic clashes.
“After borrowing money from villagers and relatives, we had gone to Imphal to save our child. But Imphal is where we were trapped, where Isaac died and suffered even after his death. Isaac was born on April 10. He had health complications because his bowel movements were abnormally inconsistent. The local doctor told us to take him to Churachandpur district hospital. Doctors there said he had a large bladder and, on April 16, they referred my son to RIMS, which is in the state capital,” said Puruolte, a farmer.
READ | Bodies of 87 Kuki-Zo victims laid to rest in Manipur district amid tight security
In Imphal, the family stayed within the premises of RIMS, a large hospital complex in the middle of the city. They were there when violence started on May 3 during a rally in Churachandpur and spread across Manipur within hours.
“At the hospital, reports were trickling in about the clashes. We did not step out for safety reasons. Isaac was admitted in a ward. We believed we would leave only after Isaac’s surgery on May 6. But on the evening of May 5, a team of Manipur Rifle officers and security forces reached the hospital and told us we were not safe. All tribal patients were to be evacuated. The sick, elderly, families, hospital staff, all tribals by birth were bundled into cars and taken to a nearby relief camp,” Puruolte said.
Until the violence, Imphal was home to Meities, Kukis and all different tribes. Other hill districts like Churachandpur, too, had people from multiple communities. It is no longer the case.
“While we were in the security camp on May 6, Isaac’s condition started worsening. With no medical aid, he had fallen unconscious, but we could not step out. The forces were guarding our camp from mobs. A kind army officer, who saw my child’s condition, offered to take him to a nearby hospital. The security forces took Isaac and admitted him, but we had to stay back in cab. Imagine what we must have gone through then,” Puruolte added.
Of the 187 people who have died in the ethnic clashes, a majority were reported in the first few days during the first wave of violence. This prompted the government to separate the tribal and non-tribal people. On May 8, under heavy security, the migration began. Meities were brought back to Imphal and other valley districts, while Kukis and other tribals such as Isaac’s parents were escorted to the hill districts.
“On May 8, security forces evacuated all tribals from Imphal. We were not allowed to stay back and had to leave our child at the hospital. We were brought to Churachandpur with the thousands of other Kuki, Zo and Hmar people. We were here, but were in touch over the phone with the doctors of the private hospital where Isaac was admitted. His condition was deteriorating but they could only provide basic medical help,” he added.
Two days later, when Puruolte and his wife, Remruotzo (31) were at a relief camp, their phone rang. A hospital staff told Remruotzo they could not save Isaac. The family was informed that the body would be transported to the RIMS mortuary, where it was kept until December 13.
“When the coffins were brought to Churachandpur, none of the families were allowed to open them. The bodies had been in a mortuary all these months. It was a wise decision by our elders. We would not be able to see their faces and then live with such memories. I had borrowed a thousand rupees from other villagers to go to the funeral and buy flowers for my son. I have returned to my village now and pray every minute,” Puruolte said. “I ask God, let there be peace in the state through my son’s blood.”
