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Of late, good news started coming after 140 days of Meitei’s retaliation to Kuki’s May 3 attack at the Torbung area went out of control and left Manipur in a State of anarchy. The news of bringing 212 displaced Meitei safely back from Myanmar and the State government’s effort to rehabilitate affected people at designated centres send a ray of hope to the people of Manipur.
The 212 people were among the group of nearly 500 Meitei people, who have fled from Moreh, India and crossed the international border to take refuge in different parts of Myanmar’s Sagaing Region. Houses of around 4500 Meitei were torched and bulldozed at Moreh town after the ethnic strife broke out. Moreh, which shares a border with Myanmar, is situated around 110 Km away from the state capital city.
Minority Tamil and Gorkha Hindus
The ongoing conflict has largely affected the other Hindu communities in Manipur. Besides Meitei, Tamil in Moreh and Gorkha in other Kuki predominant areas are reeling under constant subjugation from Kuki militant organisations/mobs.
According to the General Secretary of Tamil Sangam Moreh, KBS Maniam, the community has 3500 people and 354 houses in the cosmopolitan border town. Kuki mob torched and destroyed 45 houses belonging to Tamil Hindu and Tamil Muslim on the first day of violence May 3.
In Manipur, Nepali-speaking Gorkha are considered native. Their origin could be traced back to the reign of King Chinglen Nongdrenkhomaba also known as Gambhir Singh, who included the jawans of the 16th Sylhet Local Battalion into Manipur Levy in 1824. Notably a Gorkha, Major Subedar Niranjan, who fought against the British alongside Bir Tikendrajit and General Gambhir Singh, was hanged to death on 8th June 1847.
The Gorkha, another Hindu community, has around 64,000 population in Manipur. In a memorandum, the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha, submitted to the BJP National President, JP Nadda, the 154 Gorkha villages in Kangpokpi (Kuki-dominated) district are under subjugation by Kuki militants. Gorkha people in Kuki-dominated areas have become a victim of extortion and atrocities after the conflict broke out.
“The Sanatani Hindu Gorkha community believes in the value of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The present ethnic clash has disturbed the peace and tranquillity as the heavy extortion by the Kukis and their other demands, as well as activities like forcefully taking away the herds of the Gorkhas, have become normal affairs of the present times,” read the letter.
It also revealed that all the Kuki militant groups, who are under Suspension of Operation (SoO) with Central and State governments are involved in the purchasing of sophisticated weaponry. The affected Nepali-speaking Gorkha community have fled to safer areas.
London-based International Gorkha Forum (IGF) has also strongly condemned the Kuki militants for their “unbearable and unacceptable” extortion of the Gorkha community in the hill areas of Manipur.
Highlighting the plight of the Gorkha community IGF media convenor, Bharat Belbase, condemned Kuki militants operating in hill areas of Manipur for continuous extortion in cash and kind, loot and harassment, which pose a direct threat to the neutrality of the peace-loving Gorkha community in Manipur.
The IGF also warned the Kuki militants, who have reached the reasonable limit, to respect the mutual respect and not to take the neutrality of Gorkha as a sign of weakness.
Firing at foothills
Heavy gun firing along the foothills has not been reported for some time. Many of the valley areas have remained peaceful. However, a heavy gunfight broke out between suspected Kuki militants and an unknown armed group at around 2 pm on August 21 following Kuki militants opening fire towards Sabungkhok Khunou, Imphal East.
On August 20, Kuki militants opened fire toward Chandonpokpi village from atop a hillock located in between Kasom Tampak and Gwaltabi at around 5.10 pm.
At Thawai village under Kamjong district, at least three militants allegedly belonging to Kuki armed group were killed on 19 August at around 5 am during a gunfight with unknown armed people.
Towards Peace
In valley areas, Meitei women have resorted to non-violence forms of agitation. Thawai Meerel Women Wing has launched a relay mass hunger strike from August 21. Such democratic initiative is well received by many as one step closer to peace.
The Kuki community have also seemed to retract a bit from their earlier demand for a separate state. And, with the proposed session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly beginning on August 29, the people of Manipur are looking forward to a long-lasting solution to the ongoing ethnic strife and return to normalcy in the state.
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