Fleeing violence, thousands in Manipur face uncertain future

Mangboi Hauzel, 60, is overcome with exhaustion as he sits with hundreds of others outside the airport in Imphal on Sunday morning.

- Tanmay Chatterjee

IMPHAL: “I have become a refugee in my own country,” he said, sitting with no luggage, a sign – like the hundreds of others like him waiting at the compound – that spoke of a hasty exit from Manipur’s capital.

The Imphal airport on Sunday resembled a refugee camp in a war zone, with roughly a thousand members of Manipur’s Kuki tribe waiting for planes to take them to neighbouring states after ethnic violence swept through large parts of the state on May 3, prompting the government to issue shoot-at-sight orders, enforce a curfew and ban internet services.

“Most of us don’t have enough money. We are waiting for friends and relatives in other states to buy us tickets. The heavy rush of passengers, coupled with suspension of internet services across Manipur by the state government, have made communications impossible,” said a woman, who identified herself as Hauzel’s next door neighbour but did not want to be named.

On May 3, violence broke out after a solidarity march by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) to protest the Meitei community demand to be included into the scheduled tribe category following an April 19 Manipur high court directive to the state.

At least 28 people are confirmed to have died in the violence, which involved arson, rioting and targeted killings, but the toll could be significantly higher.