Manipur has been burning for two whole months due to the clashes between the two communities- the Meitei and the tribal Kukis. The tension escalated after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was held in the state’s hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Internet connection was cut off after violence broke and a curfew was imposed in nine out of the 16 districts.
More than 100 people have reportedly been killed and some 23,000 people displaced, most of them sheltering in army camps, in the violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, according to military sources. Meiteis account for about 53 percent of Manipur’s population whereas Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40 percent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
Meanwhile outrage in India, after a video showing dozens of men parading and assaulting two women who have been stripped naked goes viral. The video shows the group of men groping and sexually attacking the women belonging to the ethnic Kuki-Zo tribe, and escorting them towards an empty field.
Breaking his silence on the violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the incident had filled his heart with grief and anger. “Any civil society should be ashamed by it,” he said ahead of a parliament session where the opposition members demanded a statement from PM Modi.
The Opposition has been training its guns on Chief Minister N Biren Singh-led government, accusing it of not taking enough steps to curb the violence and demanding that President’s Rule should be imposed.