New Delhi: Killings of tribals, burning of churches and razing of villages continue unabated in Manipur, even after the central government’s assurances about measures being taken to quell the violence, the Manipur Tribal Forum (MTF) has informed the Supreme Court.
In a fresh application filed before the apex court last Friday, in which the MTF has once again sought direction to the Army to take full control of law and order in the state, the forum stated that “81 tribals” have died while 50 are untraceable since early May this year.
The MTF application lists the dead and missing in the state.
Manipur has been in the grip of violence since 3 May, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to oppose the Meitei community’s demand for Schedule Tribe (ST) status. Both groups, the ethnic tribals and the majority Meiteis, have reported attacks on their communities.
“All these attacks by the mob were afforded a free hand, with the state machinery and security forces acting as mute spectators in most cases. Many tribals had sought refuge in the Army or paramilitary camps in and around (capital) Imphal,” submitted the MTF.
“The assaults have also spread to Delhi where Kuki tribe members were attacked. Similar attacks also took place in Meghalaya and are expected in more parts of Delhi, such as North Campus, Safdarjung, Munirka and Burari.”
Giving detailed accounts of the attacks and killings, the application accused the BJP-led government at the Centre and in Manipur of giving “empty assurances.”
The assurance, the MTF said, was given to the top court when it had taken up a BJP MLA’s appeal against the Manipur High Court order that directed the government to consider granting the ST status to the Meiteis.
“After these assurances, over 81 Kukis were killed, 237 churches and 73 administration buildings were burnt, 141 villages were destroyed and 31,410 Kukis were displaced from their homes. The assurances of the authorities are not useful anymore and made in a non- serious fashion and are not even intended to be implemented,” the application filed by advocate Satya Mitra, reads.
The forum further accused the Manipur Police of filing a standard form of First Information Reports (FIRs) against the Kukis. Most of the 3,734 FIRs against the Kukis have been filed on behalf of the Meiteis.
The Christian Meiteis in the valley areas have also filed FIRs against the Hindu Meiteis for burning down their churches, said the MTF.
“This shows that apart from the Meitei assault on the tribals, within the Meitei community there is a strong anti-Christian ideology which fits in with the politics of the party in power at the Centre and the state,” the application stated.
The unabated violence has also left judicial officers vulnerable, it added, giving account of five judges who had to be evacuated from their homes to safe places.
The forum also expressed apprehension of fresh attacks in 85 villages which, it said, need immediate protection from the army.
The application furnished details of tribal churches that were burnt and the villages that were razed to the ground during the violence. It also contained extensive information about the attacks that had taken place after 3 May on tribals, their homes, on state buildings and churches.
Also Read: In Manipur, families wait for bodies of loved ones, tribal leaders pledge ‘grand’ joint burial
‘Insufficient cold storage for bodies’
The MTF told the SC that the scale of death in Manipur was such that the existing cold storage facilities were not enough to preserve the bodies for autopsy.
Emphasising on the need for more such facilities, the MTF said that postmortem examination was important to pursue criminal cases against the alleged assailants.
The condition of relief camps also continues to be pathetic, the application stated, adding that many tribals had thus come from Imphal to Delhi for their safety.
“However, these families do not have any source of income and the children are unable to pursue their education or higher studies,” it said.
The MTF further blamed the political dispensation in Manipur for the rise in poppy cultivation there and alleged it was backed by top politicians and drug kingpins.
“Prior to poppy cultivation in Manipur, the conditions of tribal agricultural workers and farmers bordered on destitution. Even if cultivation of crops like vegetables, rice, maize etc., was undertaken in the hills, the lack of roads in the hills for transporting the produce to the markets for sale made such cultivation unremunerative,” the application stated.
The tribal farmers and agricultural labourers were never a priority for the state government for decades, the MTF alleged.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Police commandos, militants driving Kuki-Meitei violence? In Manipur, accusations fly