The ongoing violence in Manipur has claimed the lives of around 80 people since it was instigated. In the fresh violence that erupted yesterday, five people, including a policeman, were killed, and 12 others were left injured.
The latest violence broke out only a few days before Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state. The violence broke out as a result of alleged terrorists burning down houses in the Serou and Sugunu areas.
The Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, informed us that around 40 terrorists were killed as a result of a strong response by the army and other security forces. Mr. Singh briefed media persons with details and claimed that the terrorists are using assault weapons like the M-16 and AK-47 to attack civilians and burn their houses. He also condemned the well-planned attacks on civilians on the outskirts of Imphal Valley.
The Meithis and Kukis, both, were appealed to by Amit Shah to maintain calm and peace to bring normalcy. Mr. Shah also held a series of meetings with representatives of both Maithis and Kukis and other stakeholders to evaluate the measures being taken to restore peace in the state.
The violence erupted as the Maithi community demanded reservations by including them in the ST list, allowing them to take the benefits of reservation and access the forest lands, which was protested against by Kukis. The Kukis feared getting evicted from their villages in the reserve forest lands and agitated several times.
Curfews and bans on the internet were imposed in several areas to prevent further escalation. The district authorities were compelled to shorten the 11 hours of curfew relaxation to seven and a half hours in Imphal’s east and west districts.
Urman is a mechanical engineer who graduated from Indus University in 2022 and planning to puruse Masters’ degree in a Arts from the Humanities and Social Sciences department at IIT Gandhinagar from July this year. Apart from being an amateur writer, he has also been active in political activism for the past five years and currently is a member of All India Democratic Student Organisation (AIDSO) in Ahmedabad.
