Manipur's tragedy: The unrelenting violence against Meitei Hindus
Stand united against indiscriminate killing of Meiteis in Manipur

ABVP-JNU *

ABVP national organisation secretary, Ashish Chauhan, arrives in Imphal on October 04 2023 :: Pix - TSE

The tranquil hills and valleys of Manipur have again been engulfed in a tragic spate of communal violence since past few days. The Kuki terrorists have carried out a string of brutal attacks on the Meitei community which are the only indigenous Hindu community in Manipur, leaving countless lives shattered and a once vibrant State struggling for peace.

It is important to note that the Manipur violence is not only because of ST status demand by Meities, it has several angles including anger over Government action against illegal immigrants from Myanmar who are settling in forest land and cultivating poppy.

Notably, this vicious cycle of revenge, bloodshed, and ethnic violence that started in May last year, by the terrorists of the Kuki tribal group, has resulted in over 200 deaths and thousands of people rendered homeless. The violence, unprecedented in scale and cruelty, has sown seeds of fear, mistrust, and resentment among the people of this North- Eastern State.

The fresh wave of attacks by the Kukis, which started this month, has resulted in tragic losses and injuries, highlighting a deliberate and malicious intent to destabilize the region and cleanse the indigenous Hindu Meitei population. The attacks have been indiscriminate. Women, children, and elderly members of the Meitei community have been targeted, homes burned to the ground, and entire villages razed.

On 1st September, Ngangbam Surbala Devi, a 31-year-old woman, was tragically killed by a sniper, and another unidentified man lost his life. The 8-year-old daughter of the deceased woman was injured in the Kuki terrorists’ aerial bombing using Drones, along with 16 others, including journalists and security personnel, in Koutruk village (Imphal West District).

Several Meitei houses were also burnt to the ground in this brutal attack, displacing innocent villagers and instilling widespread fear and insecurity. The attack continued on 2nd September at Senjam Chirang village, where three more civilians were injured. Additionally, the Indian Reserved Battalion (IRB) bunker at Makhan near Sinam came under attack with drone bombs and sophisticated weapons.

On 6th September, in Moirang (Bishnupur District), at the residence of former Chief Minister Mairembam Koi-reng Singh, a rocket attack resulted in the tragic death of RK Rabei, a 78-year-old Meitei Hindu Pandit, while he was performing a religious function. Five other civilians were injured in this attack.

The following day, Yurembam Kulendra Singh, a 63-year-old Meitei civilian, was shot dead by Kuki terrorists at his home while sleeping at around 5 am.

These coordinated and targeted attacks using drone bombs, rockets, and other sophisticated weapons clearly demonstrate the Kuki terrorist groups’ intention to sustain the prevalence of communal violence in order to substantiate their assertion for Separate Administration. It is evident that these weapons are foreign-funded, aiming to destabilize the security of Manipur and India as a whole.

Hence, this orchestrated violence is not a local or spontaneous eruption of ethnic tensions, but a calculated attempt to ethnically cleanse a significant part of the population under the guise of a conflict for land and resources.

The ultimate aim of these antiBharat forces appears to be creating a volatile situation in India's North Eastern frontier, targeting the Hindu Meiteis as part of a larger agenda to fracture India's unity and social fabric.

Perhaps even more disturbing is the deafening silence of the Leftist, anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat nexus who have deliberately turned a blind eye to the violence. Instead of exposing the terror against the Meitei community, these so-called intellectuals and groups have engaged in an intentional - systematic whitewashing of the crimes.

Their silence, and at times open dismissal of the suffering of the Meiteis, amounts to tacit approval of the ongoing atrocities. By using political propaganda and playing the victim card, they are undermining the gravity of these atrocities.

The romanticization of anarchist Kuki violence by Leftist and communist factions, coupled with their support for the collective victimhood narrative of the Kukis, has not only overshadowed the suffering of the Indigenous Meiteis but also facilitated the, ongoing aggression by the Kukis.

Their silence and whitewashing of the grotesque atrocities inflicted on Meiteis is a betrayal of humanity and a clear indicator of their covert support for those waging this violent campaign thereby inflaming propaganda politics.

To remain silent in the face of such horrors is to become an accomplice to the crimes. We strongly condemn the heinous attacks perpetrated by Kuki terrorist groups against innocent civilians, particularly targeting the Meitei community. ABVP-JNU stands in solidarity with the Meitei community and demands an end to this murderous campaign.

We urge the authorities to take immediate and decisive action to bring the perpetrators to justice and restore peace and security in the region. At the same time, we also condemn the unconscientious intellectuals who have chosen to ignore the Meiteis' suffering, while they have all the time to raise their ‘selective and sold’ voices on international issues.

The innocent Hindu Meiteis of Manipur deserve protection, justice, and peace. Let us not be complicit in the cover-up of their suffering. To remain silent in the face of such horrors is to become an accomplice to the crimes.

We must stand in solidarity with the Meitei community and demand an end to this murderous campaign.