Manipur, India’s north-eastern state, is on high alert after officials discovered the bodies of six women and children believed to be members of the dominant Meitei community.
Meitei groups claim that they were kidnapped by members of the minority Kuki community. The cops have not confirmed this.
The announcement provoked a new round of violent protests over the weekend, causing officials to suspend internet connectivity in some areas of the state.
Since last May, the two ethnic groups have been at odds, resulting in 200 deaths and thousands of displacements.
On Saturday, demonstrators looted and destroyed the homes and offices of at least a dozen MPs, the majority of whom were members of the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Police have arrested 23 people in connection with the violence, and officials have imposed an indefinite curfew and suspended internet access in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley and Bishnupur district.
In the aftermath of the turmoil, the federal government dispatched senior security personnel to the state. Federal Home Minister Amit Shah presided over a high-level security briefing on the situation on Sunday, but the state remains on edge.
At least 20 individuals, including Kukis and Meities, have been killed in clashes between the two ethnic groups this month.
Tensions erupted on November 7th, when members of an armed group allegedly raped and burnt a lady from the Kuki community in the state’s Jiribam District.
Four days later, a police station and relief camp for Meitei refugees in the area were attacked. The majority of the community accused Kuki factions for the assault.
On the same day, police killed ten suspected terrorists in what they described as a shootout, also termed an “encounter” in India.
Police said that the armed men were suspected Kuki militants; however, Kuki organisations denied this, claiming that the individuals were “village volunteers”—armed” civilians protecting the community.
Following the raid on the rescue camp, six people went missing: a grandmother, her two daughters, and three grandchildren.
Meitei tribes said that they were taken by armed Kuki men after attacking the region.
Police apparently retrieved six remains on Friday, and while their names have not been established, some Indian media reports claim they are those of the missing victims.
Protesters and civil society organisations in the region are urging authorities to put an end to the violence and take strong action against armed groups.
Clashes between Kukis and Meiteis occurred in May of last year, spurred by Kuki protests against Meiteis’ quest for official tribal designation, which would entitle them to affirmative action and other privileges.
Since then, the state has experienced months of bloodshed and turmoil, with only brief periods of quiet.
Today, Manipur is divided into two camps: Meiteis in the Imphal Valley and Kukis in the surrounding hills. Security troops defend the borders and buffer zones that separate the two regions.
