Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh on Sunday said the “unfortunate incidents” in the state had erupted as a “form of resistance” against the state government’s activities.
Addressing an Anti-Terrorism Day event held at the Manipur secretariat in Imphal, Singh said the BJP-led state government had taken up certain activities to save the state’s forestland and root out the drug menace, and that those measures were not aimed against any community.
Singh urged people “not” to blame each other’s community for the violence and instead air their grievances, if any, before the government so that they could be addressed.
The state government on Sunday extended the suspension of Internet services for five more days (till 3pm on May 26) to stop the “spread of disinformation and false rumours” that could lead to law-and-order issues. Internet services were suspended on May 3.
The unrest had erupted following a solidarity rally in 10 hill districts on May 3 against the majority Meiteis’ demand for ST status. The clashes between Meiteis and Kukis left at least 74 dead and affected over 40,000 people from both the communities. Over 1,700 houses and other buildings have been vandalised or destroyed.
A Manipur High Court order of March 27, which asked the state to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST list, was the immediate trigger for the unrest. But there had been simmering tension in the Kuki-dominated hill districts over the government’s steps to evict encroachers from the forests and crack down on drug abuse. The Kukis felt targeted, fuelling resentment against the government.
The Meiteis, who are mostly Hindus, make up 53 per cent of the state’s population. The tribal communities, including the Kukis and Nagas, are mostly Christians and make up 40 per cent of the population.
Singh said: “All communities residing in the state are like family members and it’s a part of life that family members sometimes quarrel with one another. There is a need to make efforts to restore the love and brotherhood among the different communities.”
Ten Manipur MLAs from the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar communities had in a memorandum to Union home minister Amit Shah on May 15 claimed their people had “lost faith” in the BJP-led state government and could “no longer” think about “resettling in the Valley”.
“That Manipur is now partitioned is the ground reality. Huge population transfers between the Valley and the hills inhabited by the Kuki-Chin-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar had occurred. There are no tribals left in the Imphal Valley. There are no Meiteis left in the hills,” they said.
