Manipur, India

Once again the fire of violence has flared up in Manipur. Three people from the Meitei community were killed in Bishnupur district on Friday night. Apart from this, the miscreants also set fire to many houses. Bishnupur police told that three people from the Meitei community were murdered. Apart from this, the houses of the people of the Kuki community have been set on fire. Police sources say that some people crossed the buffer zone and came to Meitei areas and fired in Meitei areas. Central forces have created a buffer zone from two km beyond the Kwakta area of Bishnupur district.

Earlier on Thursday evening, the situation had become tense after firing at several places in Bishnupur. There was also a clash with the security personnel of the unruly crowd. It was informed by the Manipur Police that the security forces destroyed seven illegal bunkers. According to the information, the unruly mob attacked the posts of the second IRB unit in Bishnupur district and looted many weapons including ammunition. Manipur Police said that the mob tried to snatch arms and ammunition from the 2nd and 7TU battalions of the Manipur Rifles, but were repelled by the security forces. Meanwhile, firing also took place between the armed forces and the miscreants, in which security personnel were injured. The security forces also retaliated against the miscreants. Manipur Police says that the situation has again become uncontrollable. Arms and ammunition have been looted.

There was a violent clash between the security forces and the miscreants on Thursday evening. To control the situation, the security forces had to release tear gas shells along with aerial firing. Along with this, the relaxation given in curfew in the Imphal and West Imphal districts of Manipur was withdrawn. Caste violence first started on May 3 in Manipur. The ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in the hill districts to protest against the demand for inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST). Then for the first time caste clashes took place in Manipur. So far more than 160 people have lost their lives in the violence and hundreds have been injured. The Meitei community constitutes about 53 per cent of the population of Manipur and they mostly live in the Imphal Valley. The population of the Kuki and Naga communities is more than 40 per cent. These people live in hilly districts.

What are reasons for dispute in Manipur?

• The Kuki community has got the status of a Scheduled Tribe, but the Meiteis are demanding Scheduled Tribe status.
  Naga and Kuki believe that the cream of all development is taken by the native Meitei. The cookies mostly come from Myanmar.
• The Chief Minister of Manipur has blamed infiltration from Myanmar and illegal weapons for the current situation.
• Kuki got the protection of the state for almost 200 years. Many historians believe that the British brought the Kukis against the Nagas.
• When the Nagas used to attack the British, this cookie used to defend them. Later, most of them accepted Christianity, which benefited them and also got ST status.
• Khurijam Bijoykumar Singh, Assistant Professor at the Special Center for the Study of North East India at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told that the violence in Manipur is not just a fight between two groups, but it is deeply connected to many communities. This is a problem related to many decades. So far it is being seen only on the surface.