Curfew reimposed as violence escalated again in Manipur’s Imphal

Manipur: In an attempt to restore peace and contain the escalating violence, Indian army and paramilitary forces have been rushed to Manipur, as fresh clashes broke out on May 22 after a period of calm. The Meitei and Kuki communities were involved in the clashes in the New Checkon area of ​​the state capital Imphal and were reportedly sparked by a dispute over space in a local market. As soon as the fire was reported from the area, the authorities immediately announced a curfew to control the situation.
The curfew relaxation time in Imphal West district has been reduced from 5 am to 4 pm to the new time of 5 am to 2 pm. On May 22, the curfew in Imphal West was shortened to 2 pm. The new short timing for Imphal East is 5 am to 1 pm. In the capital Imphal it has been shortened to 1 pm.
Manipur has been grappling with a series of communal clashes over various contentious issues for over a month now, affecting communal harmony in the region. Earlier this month, violence erupted when tribals organized a solidarity march on May 3 to protest the Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The clashes, which continued for more than a week, claimed more than 70 lives and damaged property worth crores. As a result, thousands of people were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in government-run camps.
The main tension leading to the clashes was the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which triggered a series of smaller movements. The Meiteis, who constitute 64 percent of the state’s population, are allotted only 10 percent of the state’s territory, as non-tribals are prohibited from purchasing land in designated hill areas. The inclusion of Metis in the ST category will give them the right to buy land in the hills, a prospect that has unsettled tribal communities.
The Kukis have alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Manipur, led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, is systematically targeting them to drive them back to their ancestral homes in the forests and hills. Attempts can be made to evict. They claim that the government’s crackdown on drug trafficking was merely a pretext to justify their eviction.