Back to village, but uneasy calm still grips Phougakchao
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 24 2023: Rows of traditional Meetei houses, consumed by weeds, stood empty.

India's Tri-colour flags affixed on bamboo poles upraised on some houses - a sign of patriotic diligence and also a clear message to the security forces deployed for protecting the village not to train their guns on their fellow citizens.

This is Bishnupur district's Phougakchao Mamang Leikai village, abutting the border of Chin-Kuki Zo community dominated Churachandpur district about 50 km from capital city Imphal.

The small settlement is one of the hotbeds of the unceasing ethnic conflicts that unfolded on May 3.The quantum of the conflict may seem to have diminished with the onset of winter; and even more, the daily buzz in Imphal is easy enough to add a catalyst to the deception that normalcy has returned in the restive state.

Nevertheless, some people, who have returned to their Phougakchao Mamang Leikai village from relief camps, narrated a different story.

An eerie calm pervades the village atmosphere with ethnic tension still lurking, threatening to rupture any moment.

Tell-tale signs of displacement and insecurity, a deep sense of fear and abandonment writ large among the locals.

On the way to the village, one would encounter barricades manned by automatic rifles wielding security personnel all along.

Phougakchao Mamang Leikai is one of the few Meetei villages still stand ing of the 11 villages under the jurisdiction of Torbung Gram Panchayat, which has seen five neighbouring Meetei villages taken over by the sophisticatedly armed Chin-Kuki-Zo miscreants.

This conflict has thrust the region into turmoil since early May.

Well-built cement bunkers stand as remnants of the initial defence by village volunteers who had tried to protect their homes.

These bunkers are now manned by the Indian Army and village volunteers keeping a vigilant eye on any suspicious activities.

The visit to Phougakchao was spurred by reports of internally displaced people slowly returning home, signalling a potential de-escalation of the violence.

Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai, a Meetei enclave in the same cluster, had seen around 200-300 residents returning to their homes.

However, Churachandpur district remains the epicentre of the ethnic violence.

Torbung, on its border, a part of the Meetei dominated district of Bishnupur, was where the first act of communal violence occurred, setting off a series of events leading to a violent ethnic conflict between Meeteis and Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes, A female villager, Wangjam Bembem, witnessed the chaos and recounted the traumatic experience of that day.

Her tea stall, a source of livelihood, was vandalised and their homes were set on fire.

"I'm from Torbung.

We live hand-to-mouth, working in our fields and running a small roadside tea stall.

We're five of us - me, my husband and three children.

They (Kuki-Chin-Zomi rioters) were on a rampage.

They robbed our property and burnt down our house," Bembem said.

Abung Thangjam, a village volunteer, also a resident of Torbung Bazar village, disputed media reports of returning to normalcy, citing the restricted access to their own homes.

Central security forces prevented them from entering their village and many residents have not been able to return.

"Frankly, only a few villagers have returned, like people from Phougakchao Ikhai.

But in the case of Torbung, other than the four-five households who had not fled from the area, no one has returned since the ethnic violence began on May 3," revealed Abung.

"Forget villagers returning to Torbung Sabal Leikai, even we, village volunteers who guard/ protect the villages are prohibited to enter the place.

I'm afraid to say that the media reports of normalcy returning aren't true," he added.

The security situation is further complicated by intermittent bring, leaving villagers in constant fear.

Security personnel are deployed, but their response has been criticised for perceived partiality.

"While the central forces strictly made sure there were no retaliatory fire from this side and barricaded the entry-exit points of the village using their Casper trucks (landmine-resistant ambush protected vehicles) and police barricade structures at night to prevent movement to and from the village, the same rule does not apply on the other side," village volunteers claimed.

"Their (Chin-Kuki-Zou settlements') main entry-exit points remain open.

They hre bullets and bombs at will.

As their movement is not restrained like ours, they move along the low-lying hill slopes and attack us as well as the neighbouring areas of Kwakta, Terakhong, Terakhongsanbi, Tronglaobi, Naranseina, Phubala, etc.," alleged the volunteers.

Women who keep vigil in the village, known as meira paibis, shared their experiences of living in fear, especially at night.

Hijam Sanatombi (50) said that the level of violence has decreased, but sporadic bring still occurs and security forces do not always respond.

"The Army doesn't retaliate and our volunteers don't have sophisticated arms.

We keep running up and down.

We can't even live peacefully in our homes.

We stay in groups, eat together, sleep together.

That's how we are living here.

If there is bring, we come out on the road, ready to run for our lives.

This is the condition we're in.

Guns, bombs to run away from," Sanatombi recounted the existence in the village.

An attempt to enter the partially forsaken village of Torbung Sabal Leikai was blocked by troops of Kumaon Regiment manning a barricade, saying it was not safe.

While negotiation was on to permit entry for media coverage, a video journalist who didn't want to waste time, ventured ahead to capture images of the abandoned village, home to only a few residents.

The villagers, numbering around 10, who did return expressed mixed feelings about their safety.

They found some solace in the presence of the Kumaon Regiment but remained cautious.

Some reported continued bring in the area.

Deep inside the village, other central paratroopers, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were on sentinel duty to keep off attacks from the hills, where bunkers could be seen.

Villagers alleged that looting, arson and to some extent levelling of the five Meetei villages of Torbung happened on CRPF's watch.

Torbung Bangla, Waikhurok, Torbung Govindpur, Torbung Bazar and Kangvai were totally devastated and occupied by the armed Chin-Kuki-Zo miscreants while Torbung Sabal Leikai, Phougakchao Ikhai, and Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai, all under the jurisdiction of Torbung GP, were partially damaged.

The conflict has caused significant disruptions in the villagers' lives.

Fields have been neglected, houses abandoned and once thriving businesses, like Leirenjam Bina's tea stall, have seen a sharp decline in sales.

She appealed to the government to be more proactive to restore normalcy.

"Before this violence, life was so peaceful even though we had to meet existential challenges.

Now because of the violence, our social and economic activities have all ceased.

Weeds and grasses have consumed our homesteads as we're preoccupied with shielding our village from the violence.

Now fear, sorrow and suffering have become our existence," Bina added.

Torbung holds special significance for the Meetei community, given its mythological links as well as mentions of it in the history of the Second World War as the battle of Torbung.

Displaced villagers of Torbung termed a recent attempt to convert the abandoned Meetei villages of Torbung into a mass graveyard of those Chin-Kuki-Zo killed in the conflict as land grabbing tactic.

The graveyard proposal by the Chin-Kuki-Zo was thwarted by the High Court of Manipur and the Union home minister.

Torbung being the immediate border with Churachandpur must be the key to resolve the on-going ethnic strife and restoring normalcy which is a shared hope among residents.

The strife has left its mark on the region, but the desire for peace and harmony remains strong in Manipur.

(Courtesy: Waari Singbul Network) .

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