New Delhi: Breaking his silence on Manipur for the first time since ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern state in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday “What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven”.
The PM’s comment came a day after a video, purportedly of two women being paraded naked by a group of men in Manipur, went viral on social media Wednesday. The two women seen in the video had also allegedly been raped in a field. While the video went viral on social media Wednesday, the alleged incident purportedly took place earlier.
“I want to assure my countrymen that no culprit will be spared. What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” said PM Modi in his address ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament.
The Prime Minister, however, made no mention of the ethnic clashes.
“The law with all its might will take one step after another. I assure the countrymen that not even a single culprit will be spared,” said Modi. The Prime Minister further said that before coming to Parliament — the temple of democracy — his heart was filled with “pain and anger”.
“The incident that has come to light in Manipur is a shameful incident for any civilized society. The entire country is shamed… all the 140 crore people are feeling ashamed due to this. I appeal to all chief ministers across the country to strengthen laws to take stringent action against crime, especially against our mothers and daughters,” PM Modi said.
Ethnic clashes between Manipur’s tribal Kuki and non-tribal Meitei communities erupted on 3 May, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ taken out to oppose the demand for inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category and for what was described as an effort to secure the rights and constitutional safeguards of the ethnic Kuki and their sub-tribes. According to police data, the violence has so far claimed over 157 lives and displaced more than 50,000.
Despite a growing clamour from the Opposition for the Prime Minister to speak on the situation, Modi had remained silent on Manipur. He had also made no mention of it in his Mann Ki Baat address last month.
Also read: ‘Gunfire, bombs every night’ — caught between Meiteis & Kukis, Muslim village wants peace
‘Maintaining law & order, respecting women should be put above any political debate’
ThePrint had earlier reported how sexual violence against women was the least talked about aspect of the ongoing violence in Manipur.
Among those who were allegedly raped during the violence were a Kuki woman in her 40s and a teenager, who were dragged to a paddy field in Kangpokpi district on 4 May and allegedly gangraped by a group of inebriated men, some of whom were as young as 15 years old.
ThePrint had earlier spoken to survivors and volunteers at relief camps to learn about at least six alleged cases of rape, including the 40-year-old and teenager from Kangpokpi, none of whom had filed police complaints at the time.
Hours after the purported video of the two women went viral Wednesday, Manipur CM N. Biren Singh, who has been under fire over his handling of the ethnic violence, had told ThePrint that the government had taken suo motu cognizance of the video and ordered a probe in the matter. He had added that the state government would make all efforts to ensure that capital punishment is meted out to those who had allegedly raped the two women seen in the video.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani had also tweeted that she had talked to the Manipur CM regarding the purported video of the two women and he had assured her of speedy action.
On his part, the Prime Minister Thursday said no “rapists will be spared” and urged everyone to rise above politics to protect women. He also urged all the chief ministers to further strengthen the law and order in their state.
“Be it Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Manipur or any part of the country, maintaining law and order and respecting women should be put above any political debate,” Modi said.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: In Imphal school, Meitei kids who fled violence get by with a little help from new friends