New Delhi: Ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit, communal violence has once again rocked Manipur, with gunmen allegedly belonging to Meitei groupArambai Tenggol shooting down at least two Kuki-Zo defence volunteers in Phailengmola, abutting Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts.
Shah’s visit in Manipur comes after almost 10 months after the conflict gripped the north-eastern state. The latest flare-up raises questions about the stability and security of the region, even as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a recent speech claimed to have contained the conflict through the Centre’s timely intervention – a claim that a large section of civil society in Manipur dismissed as far from the truth.
Meanwhile, the state police said that “additional state and central forces have been rushed in” to control the possibility of any further escalation. Manipur will go to polls in two phases – April 19 and 26 – for its two Lok Sabha seats Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur.
Reports state that the latest conflict began in Kamu Saichang village in Kangpokpi which is in close proximity to Meitei-dominated villages in Moirangpur in Imphal East. Meiteis mostly populate the valley, while tribal groups like the Kuki-Zo inhabit the adjoining hills.
“The area where the gunfight happened is the border between Kuki and Meitei villages of the two districts. It happened in the jungle area of the abandoned village on both sides. Security forces rushed to the hills where the gunfight happened. Currently, the situation is under control,” official sources told Hindustan Times.
Ever since May 3, 2023, when a “Tribal Solidarity March” in the hills led to clashes between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities, the state has been in a state of virtual curfew, with restricted mobility and the rise of armed vigilante groups within communities.
Meiteis have organised themselves under the banner of groups like Arambai Tenggol and United National Liberation front (UNLF). The Meiteis form almost 53% of the state’s population, whereas the tribals, comprising mostly Nagas and Kukis, form around 40% and reside mostly in the hills.
The Monday shoot-out, reported TOI, followed an incident where a civilian got injured in a clash between armed volunteers of the two communities in Heirok village in Thoubal district on Friday. The gunfight lasted for an hour after a few intruders attacked a village. Similar violence was also reported on Thursday last week when an armed mob set fire to a saw mill near Pallel in Kakching district.
After the Sunday violence, the Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) accused “a combined team” of Arambai Tenggol, UNLF, the Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army and Border Security Force (BSF) of killing of two community volunteers. It said that Kuki volunteers were killed in the process of enquiring about the alleged grabbing of Kuki land and illegal sand mining by Meitei militants in Songphel village.
“Unfortunately, they were ambushed by the Meitei militants on their way between Kamu Saichang and Songphel village; exchange of fire took place at around 8:30 a.m and at around 10:30 a.m; the central security (Bihar regiment) personnel sided (with) the Meitei militants and started shelling mortars against the Kukis which killed two volunteers,” the WKZIC said, adding that the dead bodies were mutilated “inhumanly”.
The Kuki-Zo council also appealed to the home minister to “protect and defend” the rights of Kuki villagers, who it said, were fleeing their villages in light of the incident for security reasons, even as the state forces have created several checkpoints every few kilometres as part of poll preparations.
