Manipur Violence: Alleged Last Kuki Families Shifted From Imphal, Woken from Sleep, Forced Moved

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Manipur government has evacuated the last 10 Kuki families who were living in Imphal’s New Lambulane neighborhood. 24 people who remained in the violent Imphal, showing unshakable fortitude in the face of the impending sectarian war in the state, were evacuated to the hills in the adjoining district in a post-midnight operation carried out by uniformed armed troops.

The occupants were reportedly “woken” from their slumber and instructed to leave on the intervening midnight of September 1-2, 2023, without having had a chance to even “pack their belongings.”

According to a source, the 10 families were transported 27 kilometers from Imphal to Motbung in the steep Kangpokpi region, home to Kuki and other indigenous tribes.

EVACUEES RECOLLECTED ‘HORROR’

Prim Vaiphei, a 78-year-old cleric who was among those forced to leave their houses, recalls the “high-handed, abduction-like forcible evacuation”.

Reverend Vaiphei said he wouldn’t soon forget how security personnel’s knocks on the door abruptly roused him and his family from sleep and left them with little opportunity to pack their stuff.

Many of us were hauled out of our slumber and into the waiting cars with nothing except the clothing we were wearing. According to the TOI article, he said that there were two infants.

DAMAGE IN MANIPUR

In response to a high court judgment requiring the state administration to take into consideration adding the non-tribal Meitei population to the list of Scheduled Tribes, Manipur descended into a whirlwind of violence in May.

Consequently, there were several ethnic conflicts. Since May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in hill areas to protest against the dominant Meitei community’s quest for Scheduled Tribe status, more than 160 people have died and several hundred have been wounded as a result of ethnic violence throughout the state.

Tribal Kukies have emigrated from Imphal Valley, while non-tribal Meiteis have fled the surrounding hills due to communal conflict in the state.

CAUSE NOT TO LEAVE

The pastor also explained why he and the other surviving families chose to stay in Imphal, which had 24-hour protection owing to its closeness to the house of Chief Minister Biren Singh and the Manipur Police headquarters.

“I have called this place home since 1983. As a pastor, I have faith in God. I have faith that God will protect me. I have nothing against Meiteis. I consider the Kukis, Nagas, and Meiteis to be my brothers. However, a few individuals stand out as troublemakers in society. Why am I supposed to fear these black sheep? The encounter last night, though, was unpleasant, Vaiphei remarked.

The government’s action was in response to a crowd setting fire to three derelict homes in the area six days earlier.

According to a story that cited informants, tribal people had lived there for a long time and had become into “vulnerable targets”.