As Kukis and Meiteis blame each other, CM Biren Singh says ‘Manipuris treat women as their mothers; the naked parade incident has tarnished the state’s reputation’.
The situation in Manipur is worsening by the day, the law and order machinery has failed, people are getting killed, women getting raped, and houses being torched, but neither the administration nor the government have been able to control the unabated violence in Manipur. In the light of the prevailing alarming situation, The Sunday Guardian spoke to members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities staying in Munirka village in Delhi to get their reactions.
“We had never thought that we would have to leave our houses, neighbourhoods, or even our state to save our lives,” said one of the residents of Manipur who left Manipur just to save his life. Thanglen Mang, a 25-year-old boy who left Manipur and started living in Munirka village in Delhi, told The Sunday Guardian that the trust between the two Kuki and Meitei communities has broken, so it’s not possible for the people of these communities to live again peacefully. “So, we urge the government to separate us from the Meitei people. These people from the Meitei community had torched our houses, and because of that, we were left with no choice but to leave the state.” He added: “No one is helping us. A few days ago, a video went viral, and it shows the real story of Manipur.
Meitei people raped the two girls and forced them to parade naked on the streets of Manipur. This shows the cruelty of these people.” He added: “We can’t even trust the government of Manipur, as the government has kept quiet since the beginning of the violence.” Ireen Misao, a 32-year-old lady, told The Sunday Guardian that one month ago she left Manipur, as the Meitei community had burned their village. She said that everyone is aware of the situation that Manipur is going through now that the video has gone viral. Ireen said, “Have you ever heard that any house of Meitei people had burned, or their people got killed, or their women got raped?” No, it’s only us Kuki people who are going through all this.” Ireen added: “It was only our house that was on fire. We had not imagined in our wildest dreams that these things would happen to us.”
Another lady from Manipur, Thempi Mate, told The Sunday Guardian that “people of the Meitei community treated us like animals”. “They are making false allegations against us. They are liars, thieves, rapists, and murderers. These Meitei people had raped and killed the Kuki women.” She added, “We Kukis just want peace, but the Meiteis won’t let us live peacefully. They just say in front of the camera that they want peace and Kukis are doing violence to them, but the truth is that they are the ones who fight and kill people.” Roselyn Baite told The Sunday Guardian that “the government is not doing anything for us”.
Roselyn said: “Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, and his government are a big failure.” She added that the Biren Singh government played communal games, and they triggered this violence and mayhem. He added that the Meiteis only played the victim card in front of the country, but the truth is different.
However, people of the Meitei community blame the Kukis for everything that is happening in the state. Ningombam residents of the Meitei community told The Sunday Guardian: “Everyone is talking about the issue of the naked video, but no one says anything about the issue of torture, killing of old men, even children, and burning Meitei people by the Kukis. This whole incident was started by the people of the Kuki community, not by us.”
Martha, a 30-year-old Meitei lady, said: “We want justice for the raped Meitei victims. These Kukis have the video to show, while the Meities don’t. She added that this does not absolve Kukis of their crimes against humanity.” Martha added: “Who will share the pain of the Meitei women who were slaughtered and raped by Kukis, the children, and the senior citizens who have been killed by Kukis? These people have raped more than 200 women, many of whom have been killed. Due to the internet ban, no one gets to know about them.”
CM N. Biren Singh has said that he will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment. “Let it be known that there is no place for such heinous acts in our society,” the CM has said, adding that “Manipuris treat women as their mothers, and the naked parade incident tarnished the state’s reputation”.