‘We are Indians, not illegal immigrants’ Kuki, Mizo, and other Manipur tribes protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi
Demanding centre's intervention to ease the ongoing tension in Manipur, memberrs of Kuki, Mizo, Hmar, and other tribes protested at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on Monday
PremiumDemanding ‘fair intervention’ by the central government to put an end to the ongoing communal tensions in Manipur, hundreds of women from the Hmar, Kuki, Mizo, and Zomi tribes staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on Monday.
During the protest, women gathered and held posters and national flags. They raised slogans demanding justice for the state. The resolute ladies continued their protest even when it started raining in the national capital on Monday.
Slogans like, ‘We are Indians’ were chanted by the protestors at Jantar Mantar. "When I woke up this morning, I saw our chief minister has said Kukis are terrorists... We have been made homeless in our own home," one of the protesters said from a dais. "We are Indians, our forefathers have been freedom fighters," another protester added, amid chants of "We Are Indians" from the crowd.
Another protester added that they are not illegal immigrants and demanded justice. The ongoing protest was aimed to draw the centre's attention towards the matter and demand its intervention in the matter. The protesters said that they trust they trust the central government, not the state government, reported PTI.
It is worth noting, that Union Home Minister is set to begin his Manipur visit on Monday. The minister is also expected to meet with the leaders of different tribal communities to assess the situation.
The Northeastern state is reeling under communal clashes for the last month. The ethnic clashes have claimed more than 75 lives. They first broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
May 3 violence was the result of intense tension prevailing over the state over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. Notably, Meiteis made up around 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis make up around 40 per cent of the population and live in the hill districts.
The situation got so worse that military forces had to intervene to control the clashes. Around 140 columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles, comprising over 10,000 personnel were deployed in the state. Besides this, paramilitary forces officials were also deployed in the state to bring back normalcy.
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