MANIPUR ON FIRE

The women bearing the brunt of ethnic strife.

- By Snehashish Roy

The oft-complex and marginalised region of India, the northeast has been bedevilled by developmental neglect, political unrest, and the most significant - ethnic conflict - for decades, often remaining in the dark corners of the national agenda. The long-pending injustice, whose irritant is more or less borne by women and children of the region, as such, only came to national attention due to the recent ethnic violence in Manipur. During the violence, it was indeed often the most vulnerable in any war - the women and children - who aptly describe the story of displacement, survival and resilience.

Origins Of Ethnic Conflict: Social Or Political?

The ethnic violence that began in May 2023 between the Kuki and Meitei communities of Manipur, ‘the land of gems’, is a conflict that has deep roots in historical, political and ethnic tensions simmering over decades.

A state with a complex demographic landscape of ethnic communities, Manipur has remained a witness to violent episodes between the Meitei, a predominantly Hindu ethnic group in the valley, and the tribal Kuki, who are mainly Christian and settled in the hill districts surrounding the valley. The demand for the ethnic group to be given legal status under India's affirmative action policies, such as recognition of the Meitei community under the Scheduled Tribe status, has been the predominant cause for tension among others, including the claim for greater autonomy and legalrights. This latest wave of violence has already claimed dozens of lives and displaced tens of thousands.