In the last episode, we explored how the ethnic violence in Manipur began. In this episode, we will take a look at how the violence unfolded.
On May 3, 2023, the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) organized a Tribal Solidarity March— a peaceful protest mainly by the Kuki students against the Scheduled Cast demand of the Meitei community. More than 60,000 protesters joined the peaceful march; however, after the rally held at Churachandpur was over, the protestor faced a counter-blockade by the people of the Meitei community. The counter-blockade soon turned hostile as groups began pelting stones at each other. Not only vehicles and properties were destroyed but a village was burnt down. Many people of the Kangvai village were displaced as a result of it being burnt down.
The Kuki tribal population was brutally attacked, even in the non-tribal areas. Churches and houses were also not spared. According to the police, more than 500 people were displaced as a result of the ethnic clash. Many had to be relocated from Imphal to Lamphelpat. Not only did the Kukis suffer from the violence, but also the Meitei people. More than 1000 people had to flee from the violence-stricken region to Bishnupur.
An article published on the Guardian mentions:
“The state was swiftly bifurcated along ethnic lines, with the Meiteis in the valley and the Kukis in the hills, defending their territory against violent mobs, with a buffer zone created in the middle.
To enter the territory of the opposing tribe was soon considered to be a death sentence. Much of the violence has been fought with thousands of weapons stolen from police and army barracks.”
While both the state and the central government announced that the situation was under control, the two groups have not stopped spewing venom against one another. Both groups have reportedly been engaged in intermittent clashes. The Guardian article mentions:
“The clashes have renewed and strengthened a longstanding demand by the Kukis for their own separate state. Kuki groups say the violence has proved they can no longer live safely under the oppressions of a Meitei-dominant state and have pledged they will not stop fighting until their own state is granted. The Meitei community and the state government fiercely oppose the creation of a separate Kuki state.”
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