Uncertainty Looms Over Kuki Air Hostess's Funeral

The shadow of the ethnic conflict that has ravaged Manipur for over two years and effectively split the state into two has cast a shadow over the more recent tragedy, the crash of Flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the passengers and crew, including two members of the cabin crew from Manipur.

- Prawesh Lama

NEW DELHI:

One of the dead cabin crew, Nganthoi K Sharma, was a Meitei, and the other, Lamnunthiem Singson, was a Kuki-Zo. And even as authorities in Ahmedabad are working to identify and return the bodies of the two women, back in Manipur, hectic parleys are on between the local administration, the police, and leaders of the Meitei and Kuki bodies.

Since May 2023, the state has been roiled by an ethnic conflict that has resulted in the death of 260 people, and displaced an estimated 50,000 people, the removal of the state's chief minister, and the imposition of President's Rule. It has also seen Kuki-Zos leave Imphal and its surrounding areas and retreat to the hills, and Meiteis do the reverse. These enclaves are protected by local militia with central security forces only serving as a buffer.

So, the discussion keeping everyone in Manipur busy now is where Singson's body will land. That's because Kuki-Zos do not enter Imphal (for fear of death). To be sure, top police officers and government authorities have spoken to her family and promised a security convoy from Imphal to Kangpokpi, where they are based, if they wish to receive the body at the Imphal airport. Singson's family, used to live in Imphal's New Lambulane area, but fled to the hill district of Kangpokpi after the conflict broke out.