Shutdown called to observe two years of ethnic conflict in Manipur cripples life

A police official said that shops, markets, business establishments, government and non-government offices, banks, and educational institutions were closed due to the shutdown, while most vehicles, except those of security forces, went off the roads

Imphal: Normal life was badly affected in Manipur on Saturday as a shutdown was called by various groups to mark two years of ethnic conflict in the state.

However, according to the police officials, the shutdown is peaceful so far in both the valley and hill districts. The Meitei community’s leading body, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), called the shutdown in the valley region, comprising six districts, while the Zomi Students Federation (ZSF) and the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) have imposed the shutdown in the hill districts.

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A police official said that shops, markets, business establishments, government and non-government offices, banks, and educational institutions were closed due to the shutdown, while most vehicles, except those of security forces, went off the roads.

The official said that both the Central and state security forces have also been deployed at key and sensitive locations to prevent any unwanted incident, and the senior officials are closely monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, a large number of people, including women, have gathered in Imphal’s Khuman Lampak, where the COCOMI is organising a public convention as part of the observance of two years of ethnic violence.

On Saturday evening, the COCOMI would hold a candlelight tribute to the martyrs and victims of ethnic violence at Kangla Nongpok Thong. The COCOMI has appealed to the public to attend the convention in large numbers and has urged citizens to refrain from regular activities on Saturday in solidarity with the cause.

Various organisations of Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal communities would hold numerous programmes in Manipur, Guwahati, Delhi, and Bengaluru. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), one of the leading organisations of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribals in Manipur, marked the day as “Separation Day”.

Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, four days after N Biren Singh resigned from the Chief Minister’s post. The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which, after the promulgation of President’s Rule, has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.

Over 260 people were killed, more than 1,500 injured, and over 70,000 people displaced after the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people on May 3, 2023, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The rioting also left thousands of houses, government and non-government properties, and religious installations destroyed or damaged. In a bid to resolve the two-year-long ethnic hostilities, the first tripartite meeting between the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the representatives of Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities was held in New Delhi on April 5.