July 7, marked the sacred beginning of the Jagannath Rath Yatra, a festival that radiates divine grace and joy across Bharat and beyond. As per history, Maha Prabhu Jagannath, an avatar of Bhagwan Krishna, embarks on a journey to his maternal home with his siblings, Balbhadra and Subhadra, each riding their magnificent chariots. This joyous festival, which spans over a week, is a beautiful tradition celebrated not just in Odisha, where Maha Prabhu Jagannath resides, but throughout Bharat.
Sacred Beginning of Jagannath Rath Yatra
In the distant northeastern state of Manipur, the Rath Yatra was once a vibrant and beloved event. However, for the past two years, the minority Hindu Meitei, Bengalis, Marwari, and Gujarati population of ChuraChandpur district, have not observed this sacred festival. What is often referred to as an ‘ethnic clash’ between the Metei tribe (predominantly Hindus) and the Kuki-Mizo-Chin tribes (all Christians) has disrupted this age-old celebration throughout Manipur. The underlying causes of this strife are complex and varied, ranging from the Metei tribe’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status to issues of illegal poppy cultivation, illegal immigrant settlements, and cross-border terrorism.
On the day of the Jagannath Rath Yatra, Organiser spoke with Amakcham (name changed), a Metei Hindu originally from the ChuraChandpur area of Manipur. Amakcham now lives in temporary camps, after his home was reduced to rubble by Kuki terrorists.
Reflecting on the Rath Yatra, he shared, “I am not just homeless but culture-less now. I have no idea how to teach my children about our rich culture and the indigenous customs we used to follow.” The temple where the Rath Yatra used to be celebrated, Mandop Leikai , lies in ruins. Every house belonging to the Hindus in the region has been demolished, marking one of the largest exoduses from the region since 1826.
Metei Tribe: A Cultural Celebration Interrupted
People from all over India living in Manipur used to gather in ChuraChandpur’s Mandop Leikai for the Rath Yatra, with Mandop serving as a common meeting place. Over the years, the scale of the celebrations diminished. Hindus, being peace-loving, gradually stopped getting out late at night, meeting people, and eating together which ultimately led to their forced exodus. “Before the exodus, the situation was such that the Yatra ended with prayers to Bhagwan, Diwali was not celebrated, and Idul-Fitar was observed with much more enthusiasm,” Amakcham added with a heavy heart.
Mandop Leikai, once a cultural epicentre for the Metei community, was destroyed by Kuki militants in May 2023. The tensions had started brewing by April 27 when militants began attacking Metei Hindu homes in ChuraChandpur Town. The final devastating blow came on May 3, forcing the indigenous tribe to flee their homeland entirely.
Amakcham reminisced about the harrowing days they spent at the police station, seeking refuge for their very survival. They would pick up rags from the dustbins, salvaging scraps of food. Some would gather just enough in their hands to feed their children. It was beyond imagination, the ordeal they endured during those desperate times.
While every Hindu left ChuraChandpur, the temple priest of Mandop Leikai, Gurmayum Tomba Sharma, chose to stay behind, declaring, “I will not leave my God alone.”
He had served Maha Prabhu Jagannath in the temple for decades. After the exodus of the native Meteis, Sharma was left alone. One fateful evening, Kuki terrorists attacked the temple. Sharma escaped to save his life. What he witnessed next was unimaginable. The militants desecrated the temple, destroyed the idol, and shockingly played football with the deity’s head. They tried to hunt down Sharma but failed.
Since that day, Sharma has been on a fast, surviving only on liquids, vowing to resume a solid diet only when the deity returns to his home with all his honour restored.
The Jagannath Rath Yatra, once a symbol of unity and cultural richness, now stands as a poignant reminder of the resilience and faith of the Metei community amidst their profound suffering.
Who are Kukis and Meteis ?
Manipur is home to several tribal groups, including the Meitei, Nagas, and Chin-Kuki-Mizo tribes. The Meiteis, predominantly Hindus, reside mainly in the Imphal Valley. In contrast, the Nagas and Kukis, who are primarily Christians, inhabit the surrounding hills.
Demographic Shift and Temple Destructions
According to data provided by the Umang Lai Kanba Apunba Lup (UKAL), a socio-religious society dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the Meitei tribe, an astounding 1,543 temples were destroyed between May 3, 2023, and August 2023. These included temples dedicated to gods like Umanglai, Sagei Apokpa, Jngkhol Lal, and other Hindu deities.
The history of the Meiteis in Manipur traces back to the Mahabharat era, spanning 5,000 years and 3,000 years of documented history if we remove the Mahabharat period. The Meiteis have always been an inclusive community, much like other Hindu communities across Bharat, welcoming people of all faiths into their region without discrimination between Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.
However, official records indicate a sharp decline in the Hindu population in Manipur, dropping from 58.8 per cent in 1971 to 41.39 per cet in 2011. Conversely, the Christian population rose from 26.03 per cent in 1971 to 41.29 per cent in 2011.
In the ChuraChandpur area, where the Jagannath Prabhu temple stood for almost a century, the 2011 census recorded about 11,745 Hindus and a Christian Kuki-Chin-Mizo population making up 92.94 per cent of the total. Additionally, at least 8,000 Meitei Christians, accounting for about 45 per cent of the total Meitei population, had converted to Christianity. The number of villages in Kuki-dominated districts like Tengnoupal, Kangpokpi, and ChuraChandpur increased as illegal immigrants settled in remote locations, a trend not observed in other parts of Manipur.
Speaking with Organiser, a founding family member of the Mandop Leikai and the wife of an army personnel, who requested anonymity, shared, “The temple used to be the focal point of the town, uniting all Hindus in the region. There used to be Durga Puja, Holi celebrations, and other indigenous festivals like Lai Haroba and Cheiraoba.”
Lai Haroba, the Kul Devi Puja organised by the Meiteis, used to be performed on sacred land owned by the Meiteis. However, as the Kuki population grew and their influence in governance increased, this land was declared government property. The Meiteis faced restrictions from accessing it, and by the 2000s, they needed permission to visit. By the mid-2000s, they were completely barred from the site.
“The festivals that once united Hindus in the region slowly started to fade away due to threats and abuses from the Kuki militants,” she added. “They began by protesting against the music and speakers during festivals, then escalated to verbal abuse and outright terrorism, driving a wedge between the communities.”
No More Rath Yatras
Speaking about the Rath Yatra, a once vibrant six-day festival in the valley town has now been reduced to a mere two-day procession with minimal attendance. Before 2015, the Yatra would travel from Mandop to Tuibong, covering 2.5 kilometers and stopping at various Meitei Leikais (localities) along the way.
The journey would continue from Tuibong to Thingkangphai village, then move east and north through Meitei localities before ending at Mandop. However, this once-grand procession has been cut down to a brief two-day event, devoid of the festive spirit it once had.
Previously, people would gather and share prasad, but those days are gone. Since May 3 and the ensuing exodus, the festival has not been celebrated.
Indefinite Fast for Jagannath Maha Prabhu
Sharma, the Jagannath temple priest, spoke to the media after arriving at the relief camps. He said, “When they dragged the head of the deity out and broke it into pieces, they broke my heart. I want to perform the rituals at the temple again before I die. Until my wish is fulfilled, I have sworn to undertake my fast. Our temples are the most sacred places; we value them more than our souls. Even before offering a single petal, we perform rituals. Seeing such disregard for our deity, as if it was nothing, was devastating.”
Rise of Kuki Militancy
Lobong Takenjam (name changed), a Meitei who runs a social organisation helping those forced to leave their homes, added, “The situation started deteriorating back in the 1960s when Kuki immigrants began moving into Manipur Illegal immigration, accelerating since the 1950s, caused demographic shifts in places like ChuraChandpur and Tengnoupal. The Thadou Kuki population in Manipur surged by 2508 per cent from 1951-2011, vastly outpacing the Meitei population. Vaiphei and Gangte populations also saw significant growth rates of 912 per cent and 588 per cent, respectively, during this period. In the 1960s, Hengkhosei Haokip led 1500 families into Manipur, settling in Kuki-dominated areas like ChuraChandpur and Tengnoupal, where they integrated as indigenous Bharatiyas. Hengkhosei Haokip lived a contented life in ChuraChandpur until 2015.”
“Most of the Meitei population in ChuraChandpur comes from lower-middle-class families, so the immigration, backed by sufficient funding, hurt them the most. During the 1980s and 90s, Meiteis owned more than 50 per cent of the land. However, in the 1990s, Kuki militants adopted a policy of not allowing Meiteis to buy land in the region. They would prevent Meteis from taking land in the form of gifts or mortgages, sidelining them from all forms of business. They were called devil worshippers, and Church-controlled educational institutes like Ebenezer Academy gave weapons training to Kuki-Chin-Mizo children, providing local terrorist groups like the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) and Kuki National Front (KNF) with a steady supply of child soldiers and future cadres. Christian students were encouraged to mock and target native culture and traditions, and child soldiers were trained to discriminate against Meitei students based on their identities. Meitei students were only allowed to read about their native scriptures after class 9; before that, it was all church-directed textbooks.”
She continued, “It became impossible for them to survive. By 2021, around 40-45 per cent of the Meitei population was forced to convert, just to ensure they could remain on their ancestral lands. There are some government schools, but most are in dilapidated conditions, forcing locals to send their children to missionary schools. These schools created artificial fault lines, slowly erasing the rich cultural past of the native Meiteis.”
She recalled how the media describes it as ethnic cleansing, but it is more of a communal issue.
“It was never about the ST reservation issue; it was always about targeting the Hindus living in the region. Back in 2006, they targeted Khumujamba Pung, where the Meitei first settled. This was followed by large-scale occupation of all holy hills where the Meiteis worshipped their ancestral gods and goddesses. They stopped people from going to the hills to offer prayers. In 2010, two women were molested, and since then, a ritual that lasted a week shrunk to four days, then three days. The number of devotees also declined, from entire villages marching to the top to a mere two-person procession. This is how the Hindu Meitei communities were forced to curb their practices and lose their cultural identity slowly and steadily.”
“They (Kukis) would come to the shops, collect money, take goods for free, abuse Hindus, molest their children, and do everything possible to ensure they sold their land and left. They would buy land at any cost, any cost one wants,” she added.
Church and its Role
Speaking about the government officials and local representatives, she said, “The ChuraChandpur area also had settlements of Bengalis, Marathis, Marwaris, and Gujaratis due to the industrial value of the region and its proximity to the Myanmar border. During elections, the Kukis would seize the voter IDs of these locals and only return them after the elections, ensuring their representatives were always in place.”
She explained that the church controlled the system, awarding more benefits to the more dedicated followers: a Kuki Christian was valued more than a Naga Christian, a Naga Christian more than a Meitei Christian, and ordinary people from other states the least.
“Their (Meteis) cremation grounds were taken over, and garbage was dumped there just to irritate them, leading to significant migration from ChuraChandpur. In 2007 and 2015, there were major attacks on Meiteis, and the worst-affected areas were the same as in the recent attacks. In 2022, during the Moonlight festival, they fired at devotees, celebrating Thabal Chongba leading to widespread panic and causing a stampede. Whenever festivals were held, threats were issued, and residential colonies were targeted. They attacked the Thangjing Hills, the most sacred place in Manipur linked with Mahadev, simply because it was a cultural site.”
The situation worsened due to the lack of political representation.
Gallery Shooting and Prostitution: The Hidden Epidemics
Amakcham told Organiser that despite living in the area for generations, they had no political representation. They were left with two options: a Kuki terrorist or a sweet-talking person who would speak to them during elections but forget them afterwards. They had no choice but to vote for the latter.
When questioned about the Meitei militants and the difference between them and the Kukis, he explained, “The Meitei terrorists were never organised. They extorted on the basis of need. On the other hand, the Kukis established a cadre-based system and organised rackets by spreading pornography, drugs, and systematically destroying the Meitei culture.”
He described “Gallery shooting,” a common practice in the region, where people used the same syringe on multiple individuals in a group when syringes were not readily available for sale. Another dominant issue was prostitution. According to 2011 data, the HIV rate in the region was 48 times the national average. By 2017, the HIV rate in the entire state of Manipur was 38 times the national average.
“No church opposed these practices through campaigns or anything significant; their actions were merely for show. In reality, they silently promoted these activities. I recall a ‘Fatwa’ issued by the Church offering rewards to Kuki-Chin-Mizo people for killing security personnel who acted against drug peddlers and suppliers,” he added.
Cultural and Historical Erasure
“Our houses weren’t just demolished; our identities were erased. We couldn’t even use our last names because we might retaliate. We were defenseless, and it’s heartbreaking to say this, but we had to run for our lives. A person dies only once, but when a culture is destroyed, it means we have no chance to rise again,” added Amakcham.
He lamented the loss of cultural heritage, saying, “There are places and scriptures I haven’t visited, my daughter hasn’t seen, and many haven’t even been identified. But all those manuscripts, inscriptions, and texts are gone. Our history has been eradicated. Our 2000-year-old culture is no more. The places have been bombarded, manuscripts destroyed, and we are left without our cultural identity. Hindu Dharma is slowly dying in Manipur. We, coming from the Meitei Sanatan, were the only ones keeping it alive, but not anymore.”
He continued, “In the next 10 years, there will be no Hindus left in Manipur. Even those running the most profitable businesses won’t be able to afford the land. Militants and drug lords will control it, exacerbated by corruption in the bureaucracy and politics. The Church is equally responsible, with thousands of churches within just 100 kilometres of the region.”
Reflecting on their situation, he admitted, “As a Meitei Hindu, I take responsibility. We lived with the hope that nothing would happen. We were busy with our work and securing our families, forgetting about our culture and Dharma. We were focused on making our lives better elsewhere. We were traumatised repeatedly. If we had shown some courage, we could have saved our culture.”
He pointed out that even in the heart of the market in Imphal Valley, Kukis dominate. All the marketplaces are controlled by them.
Regarding how displaced people make their living, Amakcham said, “They are making gift items, dolls, soap, candles, artificial flowers, and more. The displaced have no choice but to do whatever work they can find. Many who can’t cope with this situation commit suicide. One such person, Angom Prem Kumar, committed suicide at the Kwaktha Sericulture Camp on July 6. The blockade of highways has disrupted the supply chain, creating major issues.”
Talking about illegal immigrants, he mentioned, “These aren’t families moving to Europe. Most are trained military officials from Burma, many armed with AK-47 rifles and rocket launchers.”
Living in Constant Fear and Desperation
Speaking about the cultural and temple disruptions, he shared a heart-wrenching picture from ChuraChandpur where the old Jagannath Mandir once stood. The land now looks like a barren ground, with no trace of the temple that once graced the area. He showed another picture revealing the region has been renamed Gilgal Veng. Searching for “Mandop Leikai” on Google and social media yields no results, as if it never existed. The thousands of temples destroyed, the ancient manuscripts, the inscriptions, the millennia-old history of a once-thriving civil society have been reduced to ashes.
These Meitei Hindus living in regions like ChuraChandpur are now homeless and stripped of their cultural identity. With each passing day, they lose more of their heritage, and by the end of this generation, there may be no one left to tell the stories of their rich past. The children of today will grow up not knowing what they once owned, not understanding the depth and beauty of their ancestors’ legacy. They are a people left in despair, their history obliterated, their future uncertain. The anguish in his voice was palpable as he described the profound loss of both physical and cultural landmarks, leaving the Meitei community adrift in their own homeland. At least 15000 indigenous Meiteis were displaced from 4275 sq. Kms of ChuraChandpur district between May 3 and May 5, 2023.
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