Churachandpur: On his first Manipur visit since clashes broke out between the state’s Meitei and Kuki communities earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked for 15 days of peace in the state so that he can form a committee to chalk out a permanent political solution for the tribals of Manipur who are demanding a separate administration.
Geographically, Manipur is divided into the hill and valley areas. The hill areas comprise 90 per cent of the state’s total geographical area and are predominantly inhabited by Naga and Kuki-Chin-Mizo or Zo ethnic tribes. The valley areas are dominated by non-tribals or Meiteis.
The ethnic clash which erupted in the state on 3 May followed a solidarity march called by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur to oppose the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status, which the Kukis say is a bid to secure constitutional safeguards for the community.
During his meeting with tribal leaders in Manipur’s Churachandpur Tuesday, Shah also promised a CBI probe and a judicial inquiry in this month’s violence. He also assured the tribal leaders that there will be no interference of the state in the inquiry.
Union minister of state (MoS) for home, Nityanand Rai, BJP national spokesperson and state in-charge Sambit Patra, ministry of home affairs advisor A.K. Mishra and chief secretary Vineet Joshi were also present at the meeting.
The tribals of Manipur, primarily Kukis, have been voicing anger over the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh-led government “inability” to stop the violence, especially on the border of the hill districts where Meitei and Kuki villages are in close proximity to each other.
“We told the minister that we will refrain from violence, but if the other side attacks us, we have no option but to defend ourselves. He said he will be deploying more central forces in the border areas,” said Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson, Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, who attended the meeting.
M. Manihar Singh, a Meitei leader based in Imphal, had earlier told ThePrint that Meiteis were “peace-loving people. Since the beginning of this conflict, Kukis have been spreading lies that we are shooting at them. These are baseless. We never resorted to aggressive tactics. We committed no offensive actions. We are only reacting to save our property”.
‘Only Amit Shah can resolve issue’
Women holding placards and flex banners formed a human chain on both sides of the road, on the roughly two km stretch from the helipad to the Assam Rifles office where Tuesday’s meeting was held.
Clad in their traditional dresses, women from various tribes told ThePrint that help from the central government was their last hope.
“We have come here to tell Amit Shah that we are suffering. We are mourning for our people who have died fighting in our villages. Our traditional dresses show that all the tribals are united in this fight,” 22-year-old Iris Lalrimawi said.
Another tribal woman, a resident of Churachandpur, Marina Ljoute added: “We are in our poorest (condition) right now. No one is leading a normal life. We want Amit Shah to solve this issue as soon as possible. Only he can do it. Otherwise, many more people will die.”
Meanwhile, Vualzong told ThePrint that Shah has assured them that he will personally (visit) Churachandpur in June or July to assess the situation. Churachandpur is part of the state’s Hill areas.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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