Cycle of Violence

The tension and barbarity between the Meitei and Kuki communities shows no signs of abating

- Angana Chakrabarti

HALF a dozen army personnel were manning the “checkpoint” at the border between Churachandpur and Bishnupur in Manipur. The area was surrounded by the remnants of houses that had been burnt down. This was the place where the clashes between Meiteis and Kukis first began.

“Bohut media aaye hue hain aaj (a lot of media people have come today),” said the army personnel checking the identification of this reporter on the morning of July 23. The stream of journalists had been persistent since July 19 after a video from Manipur went viral in which two women, a 44-year-old and a 21-year-old, of the Kuki-Zo community—an umbrella term used for several tribes—were seen being paraded naked.

Fifty metres from the army checkpoint, a group of Kuki women volunteers stood with sticks checking cars. They let this reporter in after checking her credentials. Inside in the main town of the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur, the signboards had been spray painted and “Lamka” was etched everywhere—the name used by the Kuki-Zo community to refer to the district. Women sat with bottles of petrol by the side of the road. A few of the shops were open which, according to a representative from the Kuki Students’ Organisation, was staggered through the week because of the curtailed access to food supply.