SC panel's directive on unclaimed bodies peeves Kuki bodies
Source: Chronicle News Service
Kangpokpi, September 27 2023:
Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki tribes, and Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO)-General Headquarters have expressed disappointment over a committee of the Supreme Court advising the state government to identify bodies and dispose unclaimed bodies respectfully.
The Kuki bodies also urged the Committee to reconsider its stance taking into account ground reality, practicality and actual problems hindering identification and claiming of the bodies.
It can be mentioned that a three-member Committee constituted by the Supreme Court to look into the violence in Manipur had recently advised the state government to publish a list of those killed during the ethnic violence and to dispose the same with due respect if no one claim the corpses.
Drawing attention of the Committee and the central government, KIM said that first and foremost, it is pertinent to recognise that Manipur has been clearly separated on ethnic lines.
KIM information arid publicity secretary Janghaolun Haokip stated that the impracticality of a Kuki-Zo traveling to a Meitei-dominated area and vice versa is an open secret and therefore, any effort to identify and claim bodies amidst the unrest situation, except by a powerful Committee deputed by the central government would not only be futile but senseless.
He reminded that various Kuki-Zo organisations have consistently requested the central government for bodies of the Kuki-Zo people to be transported to their native places so that a proper funeral could be held.
Strongly condemning deplorable conditions under which the mortal remains of the Kuki-Zo victims are being kept at the morgues in Imphal, especially at RIMS and JNIMS, Janghaolun emphasised that 'dignity of the dead' is not only a human right but also a constitutional right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Subsequently, the intention of the Meetei CSOs, spearheaded by the meira paibis to foil any attempt to transport the bodies to their native places by guarding hospital morgues is highly confounding and disturbing, he added.
He also appealed to the Committee and any other central authorities concerned to look into the ground reality and the actual problems hindering the identification and claiming of the bodies.
KSO also expressed dismay regarding the SC committee's directive regarding the unclaimed bodies as the current state of affairs makes it impossible for Kuki-Zo community members to access the valley and vice-versa for the valley community.
It also said that such geographical divide significantly hampers the identification and transportation of the deceased by any CSOs.
KSO thus appealed to the central government to take actions such as returning bodies to their respective districts and bodies that have been identified should be sent back to their respective districts with the utmost urgency.
In connection with identification procedures, the student body urged the centre to establish a robust system to ascertain the identity of unclaimed bodies.
It also recalled that the organisation has consistently urged the government to address this issue but regrettably, their appeals have not yielded positive response.