Northeast Students Hold Protest In Delhi, Call For Peace, Unity In Manipur

New Delhi:

The central and the state governments must restore peace in violence-hit Manipur quickly and rebuild the destroyed homes of internally displaced people, according to students from the northeast who participated at a peaceful protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Tuesday.

They raised their voice against attempts to divide Manipur. Some of the placards read “no separate administration,” “peaceful coexistence for everyone,” “save territorial integrity of Manipur”, etc which are the common themes in the Manipur crisis.

The MLAs, civil society organisations, and ceasefire-linked insurgent groups of the Kukis tribes dominant in some hill areas of Manipur have been speaking in the same language in demanding what they call a “separate administration” carved out of Manipur.

The disruptions caused by the ethnic violence that began in May 2023 have deeply affected young people in the state, the organisers of the “Save Manipur” protest said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Manipur’s peace and harmony are of paramount importance, and must be prioritised. The indigenous people must maintain unity by setting aside differences introduced as a result of the British occupation. Elements that seek to create anti-national sentiments must not be allowed to succeed. The Indian national interest and the interests of Manipur’s indigenous people are one and the same,” historian and geopolitical analyst Abhijit Chavda, who was one of the six speakers at the protest, told the gathering.

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Mr Chavda drew attention to the crisis in neighbouring Myanmar and its spillover effects in the northeast region, especially in Manipur and Mizoram, which is just across Myanmar’s Chin State.

Colonel Kishore Chand (retired) said government agencies have been working tirelessly to help families of people killed in the clashes, thousands of internally displaced people, and those who were injured in the violence.

“We are confident that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes will be brought to book and justice will be delivered to the wronged,” he said.

The four others also spoke on the theme of keeping Manipur’s territorial integrity intact; they are Colonel Shanti Kumar Sapam (retired), social activists Elizabeth Kh and Rajshree Kumari, and Delhi University Assistant Professor Dr M Ojit Kumar Singh.

Ms Kumari thanked the students for taking the initiative to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital – the first by a student body from the Meitei community since May 2023 – and asked them to focus on what is at stake and protect it at all cost.

READ | End Ceasefire With All Kuki-Zo Insurgent Groups: Manipur Assembly Unanimous Resolution

While the protest was organised by the Manipur Innovative Youth Organisation (MAIYOND) and the United Kakching Students (UNIKAS) Delhi, they said the North East Students’ Society from Delhi University gave support in solidarity. A representative of the NE Students’ Society said students from this region of the country should stay united when they are away from home.

Hundreds of students from northeast states, cutting across communities and tribes, came to the protest at Jantar Mantar to show support, the organisers said. “MIAYOND and UNIKAS stand firm in our position that any form of division, whether territorial or ideological, only serves to weaken the fabric of society,” they said in the statement.

The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes have killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The ‘general’ category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Nearly two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups that have signed the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Centre and the state government, Kuki groups such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), and Kuki MLAs have been demanding the same thing – a separate administration. This demand has brought all of them on the same stage.