Clashes erupt in Manipur’s Churachandpur, tensions soar

Imphal: Tension has escalated in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Sunday following clashes between youths and security forces.

Prime minister Narendra Modi visited Churachandpur on Saturday and met Internally displaced people and addressed a rally.

A senior police official said that a large group had surrounded the police station demanding release of several people who were picked up for allegedly vandalising decorations ahead of the Prime Minister’s programme. On September 11, unknown miscreants vandalised and set on pyre preparation for the visit.


He added, “The protest was peaceful initially, later youths pelted stones on the security forces. There were clashes .In some instances, protestors sang the national anthem as a form of defiance.”

Ten Kuki-Zo tribal MLAs, including seven BJP MLAs, have urged Prime minister Narendra Modi to consider separate administration or a Union territory for the tribals in Manipur.

In a memorandum submitted on Saturday they stated, "We, the undersigned MLAs, extend our heartiest welcome to you on your first ever visit to Churachandpur. We look forward to a historic shift in our political future with your visit. You are fully aware of how our people have been totally cleansed from the valley areas of
Manipur, shamed, assaulted, raped, and ravaged, physically as well as mentally. It is an unprecedented ethnic persecution, with state complicity, by the majority community of our minority community."

They stated, "We can now live in peace only as good neighbours, never under the same roof again. We therefore place the anguish and aspiration of our people before you and strongly urge you to expedite the dialogue to address our demand for a separate Union Territory with Legislature. This alone, we believe, will bring lasting peace and a sense of security, justice and belonging to our people."

Modi said on Saturday that his government is making every effort possible to bring life in Manipur back to normal and emphasised that there is a need for dialogue to build a bridge of trust between the hills and the valley.

In Churachandpur, the PM laid foundation stones for development projects worth more than Rs 7,300 crore, while at the event in Imphal, he inaugurated projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore.

More than 260 people were killed, over 1,500 injured and around 70,000 displaced after the ethnic violence that broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people on May 3, 2023. The violence followed a Tribal Solidarity March organised in the hill districts by the Kuki-Zo community to protest Meiteis’ demand for the scheduled tribe status.