Manipur violence complete three months, Kuki groups plan to bury the bodies, Meiteis oppose the venue

Imphal: Locals gather near Kuki-Zo community's houses which were burnt down by miscreants in the violence-hit Manipur, in imphal, Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023. The fire also engulfed more than a dozen houses of migrants from Bihar, Haryana, and Naga people. Credit: PTI Photo

As the violence completes three months on Thursday, Manipur stares at a row as Meitei organisations on Wednesday objected to a decision by the Kuki groups to bury 35 bodies in a common ground in Churachandpur district.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a forum of the Kukis on Wednesday said 35 bodies, including three women, which remained abandoned in the Churachandpur district hospital, would be buried at S. Boljang village on Thursday following a programme to pay tributes to the deceased in the Peace Ground at Tuibuong, (also in Churachandpur.)

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Objecting to ITLF's decision, Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a forum of the Meitei organisations, on Wednesday said the burials should be performed in the native village of the deceased as was done by the Meitei organisations. "Burying the bodies together in a newly created mass grave at the evicted land of a Meitei villages will not only provoke the sentiments of the people in both sides but will also remain as a symbol of enmity between the two neighbouring villages forever," said COCMI in a statement.

The COCOMI urged the government to stop the burial in a mass grave in order to prevent further escalation of the situation.

The ITLF, however, wrote a letter to deputy commissioner, Churachandpur seeking adequate security arrangements for the burial ceremony. The ITLF, in a notification said if anyone or any group tries to disrupt the event, they will be responsible for the consequences.

The violence in Manipur started in Churachandpur on May 3 after a "solidarity march" organised by All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur against a move to grant ST status to the Meiteis. Nearly 150 people have died and over 60,000 others have been displaced due to the three-month-long violence. Meiteis fled the Churachandpur and a few other hill districts while the Kukis quit the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley.

The situation outraged the nation on July 20 when a video showing two Kuki women being paraded naked by a Meitei mob went viral.

Peace still elusive:

Peace remains elusive in Manipur as the organisations representing both the majority Meitei and the Kuki tribes have remained firm on their demands and have not yet engaged into any kind of talks, be it with the government or with the communities. The Meitei organisations, in fact, have decided to organise a sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 6 in order to draw the Centre's attention towards their demands for action against "narco terrorism by the Kukis," abrogation of the suspension of operation agreements with the Kuki insurgent groups and not to heed to demand for "separate administration" for the Kukis in Manipur. The Kuki organisations, on the other hand, says "separate administration" is the only way forward as the ongoing violence had already made "emotional separation" between the Kukis and the Meiteis.