Ngaineilam Haokip, a teacher working in Calcutta for seven years and tracing her roots to Manipur, spoke to The Telegraph on the strife

We are being chased as outsiders, and called refugees and illegal immigrants. But our ancestors had fought for this land against the British. There is an archival record of the Anglo-Kuki War (1917-19). The Meitei rioters shout: “Go back where you came from.” Where would we go? We are tribal people who have been living on this land for generations.

It is shocking that we are hated so much by the people we live with. Never in the history of Manipur have churches been burnt. We have lived peacefully together with Nagas and Meiteis. This targeted burning of our homes and churches has traumatised us. The hate narrative has become so distorted that it is scary for us.

There are just a few thousand tribals in Imphal. The difference in number is staggering. When they (Meitei rioters) come out as a mob, we are like chutney. In a few tribal localities, after burning down our houses, they have openly looted our moveable properties.

The majority of our villages located on the foothills of the Imphal Valley have been wiped out. Now, our people, who are poor, have no place to live. Where shall they go? This is our struggle for survival. We belong to this land.