“Safeguard Indigenous Communities”: Meitei Group’s Sit-In At Manipur Bhavan In Shillong

Shillong:

A civil society organisation of the Meitei community organised a sit-in protest at the Manipur Bhavan in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong on Sunday, condemning the recent rocket and weaponized drone attacks in Manipur by “Kuki insurgents”.

The Manipuri Elders Consortium Shillong (MECS) in a statement said many members of the Meitei community including students living in Shillong participated in the sit-in protest.

“Protesters expressed strong opposition to the recent aerial attacks targeting Meitei villages along the foothills in Manipur, which involved the use of drones and rockets, resulting in numerous civilian casualties,” MECS said in the statement.

MECS also raised concerns over what it called inflow of illegal immigrants, the growing threat of narco-terrorism, and propaganda campaigns against the Meitei community.

“We call on the urgent need to safeguard the indigenous communities of Manipur, with calls for immediate action to address the ongoing violence and bring immediate peace in the state,” the MECS said.

Kuki civil society organisations have refuted allegations of their “defence volunteers” using weaponized drones.

The Manipur Police have said they are considering giving the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has 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 carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.