Meeteis responsible for violent clash: ATSUM
Source: Chronicle News Service

Kangpokpi, May 10 2023: Maintaining that assault on rally participants and burning of the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary gate by Meetei volunteers ignited the violent clash, All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM) urged the tribal communities of the state to stand together in this challenging time and show solidarity to each other.

The tribal student body also said that it shall continue to fight together against the injustice meted against the tribal.

While condemning in the strongest term the destruction unleashed in the state in the after-math of the Tribal Solidarity March, ATSUM brought up its version on the nature of the crisis while terming all the reports circulated in national media as bias and concocted.

It stated that ATSUM organised the rally to register opposition to the demand of Meitei/Meetei for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list of the constitution and it was a democratic expression of opinion following the High Court of Manipur's order directing the state government to recommend the inclusion of Meitei/ Meetei in the ST list.

On May 2 at 6 pm, Meitei Leepun in order to thwart the democratic rally of the tribals, started enforcing a 'Counter Blockade' on roads and highways leading to hill areas though there was no blockade or bandh enforced by ATSUM.

Many tribals were harassed and threatened by activists of Meitei Leepun in the form of selective targeting of a particular tribal community.

The rally was carried out peacefully and the tribal people in all the hill districts submitted memoran dums addressed to the President of India through the respective deputy commissioners and ended around 12:30 pm in all the districts.

At about 2 pm, Meitei volunteers came and set fire to the Centenary Gate at Leisang in Churachandpur district and beat up rally participants who were returning home at Kangvai.

This agitated the tribal people of Churachandpur and instigated a violent scuffle between the Meitei volunteers and tribals, who gathered at Kangvai.

A fight between the two groups broke out around 4 pm at Kangvai and led to the burning of houses belonging to both sides in Torbung and Kangvai area, ATSUM stated.

It also stated that following the violence in Kangvai area, a mob led by Arambai Tenggol started attacking the Kuki tribal localities in Imphal and villages along the foothills at night.

First, churches were attacked and burnt down and then private houses were targeted.

Villages along the foothills were razed to the ground.

Kuki tribals were waylaid and those caught were mercilessly murdered.

Quarters that are not burnt were ransacked and looted.

Even TVs, fridges, sofas, beds, and other household items were hauled away and stolen by the attackers.

Violence of such scale and intensity could have been prevented had the government intervened at the outset but instead of dousing the fire the state government chose to remain a silent spectator, ATSUM alleged.

It also contended that the state government did nothing to control the mob thereby leading to the massacre and arson.

Mobs were seen accompanied by state forces and the tribal people were left defenceless.

The state government needs to shoulder the responsibility for all that was happening in the state in the last few days, it stated.

ATSUM also maintained that as the internet has been cut off, the ordeals suffered by the tribals could not be circulated and the real nature of the crisis, where tribals are the victims of a well-orchestrated attacks and conspiracy, is concealed from the outside world.

The narrative where the tribal community is being projected as instigator of the violence is "a false narrative propagated by the majority community-controlled electronic and print media" .

Many lives and properties have been lost in the violence which is still persisting, so independent media and press from outside need to come and see the truth.

It can be seen that more than 222 churches including 150 Meitei churches in the valley have been burnt down and destroyed, it stated.

ATSUM then urged the tribal communities of the state to stand together in this challenging time and show solidarity to each other lest the unity of the tribal people would lie in tatters.

While calling for sanity, ATSUM also appealed to all to stop the violence in the state.

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