Manipur: Two years on, state is more divided than ever, Kuki vs Meitei ethnic violence, ground report

Manipur has been gripped in ethnic violence for nearly two years. The northeastern state is currently under President’s rule, which came into effect in February following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Multiple security forces, including the Indian Army, are deployed in the state to maintain peace and security. And yet, the state has been more divided than ever. The free movement of people between Kuki and Meitei-dominated areas, which was opened up by the Centre on March 8, faces vehement opposition.

India Today TV recently visited Manipur, including Kuki-dominated Churachandpur – the epicentre of the prolonged ethnic conflict between the Kukis and Meiteis.

BUFFER ZONE – DIVISION EVERYWHERE

The buffer zone that lies between Churachandpur and Meiteis-majority Bishnupur was opened up for free movement on March 8, following a directive by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. However, the people of the state oppose the same. This division is not only visible among citizens but also among security forces and bureaucrats.

During the March 22 visit to Manipur by a delegation of Supreme Court judges, Justice N Kotiswar Singh, who is from the Meitei community, did not visit Churachandpur due to objections from a lawyers’ body there. Instead, he visited Bishnupur district.

The All Manipur Bar Association (AMBA) has urged its Churachandpur district counterpart to withdraw its directive preventing a Meitei Supreme Court judge from visiting the Kuki-Zo-dominated area.

In a statement a few days after the free movement was announced, the Kuki-Zo council announced the lifting of the indefinite shutdown previously called by it. However, it clarified that free movement should be vehemently opposed by the Kuki-Zo people.

CHURACHANDPUR – VIOLENCE AND WOMEN ENSURING PEACE

Women in Churachandpur district have taken it upon themselves to ensure peace and security there. India Today TV saw women, geared up with lathis, stopping vehicles and checking the identity cards of drivers and other occupants. Hundreds of women could be seen in the visuals.

One of the volunteers told India Today TV that all the women are mothers. “We have gathered here for safety and to ensure peace among ourselves,” she said.

Despite a curfew in place in the district after fresh violence there in recent weeks, the police have not stopped these women as they are offering a helping hand to the forces.

A curfew was imposed on March 17 following the assault on Hmar tribal organisation general secretary Richard Hmar leader by unidentified people the previous day. Locals called for justice and enforced a shutdown, with some groups resorting to throwing stones.

On March 18, more violence broke out after Hmar community members protested a Zomi group’s attempt to hoist their community flag. Clashes between the two communities led to the death of a 53-year-old man and several others being injured. Despite a peace deal signed by the Hmar Inpui Manipur and the Zomi Council, tensions persisted. After the violence, the Zomi Students’ Federation declared an “indefinite emergency shutdown” on Wednesday.

India Today TV also visited a relief camp in Churachandpur where nearly 400 internally displaced people live. Visuals showed how curtains hung on wooden planks serve both as doors and walls for rooms in the camp. These rooms have been designated to a family regardless of their size.

Interestingly, the curtains were hung only two days before the visit by the Supreme Court judges. Prior to that, families used whatever piece of cloth or curtains they had to cover the rooms for their privacy.

Justice BR Gavai headed the delegation of top court judges that visited Manipur on March 22 and assured that “peace will return to the state soon”. They visited relief camps and virtually inaugurated legal services camps, legal aid clinics, and temporary medical facilities from the Mini Secretariat in Churachandpur district. They also went to a relief camp at Moirang College in Bishnupur.

Recently, a nine-year-old girl was found dead with injury marks allegedly suggesting sexual assault inside a relief camp in Churachandpur. Besides injury marks, a rope was tied around her throat, and there were bloodstains, particularly on her buttocks. Her family alleged the signs pointed to possible sexual assault, though police told India Today that confirmation would follow a postmortem.