In dispute of ethnic clashes Tamil community in Moreh caught

Imphal: The minority Tamil community in Moreh, India’s gateway to Southeast Asia, is caught in the crossfire of the ongoing communal violence between the Kuki tribals and the non-tribal Meiteis in Manipur.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Monday that there are media reports that people from the Tamil community who could not pay extortion money have been asked to leave Moreh, in the Tengnoupal district of Manipur.

The CM also said that a spokesperson of the Kuki Inpi had stated that the Meitei people would not be allowed into Moreh town without a solution.

The CM warned against such statements, saying that the government has been maintaining a restraint in order to control the violence.

He added that an FIR has been lodged to nab the person(s) who made the statements.

A total of 48 Tamil homes were destroyed in the communal clashes in Moreh. Currently, there are around 3,500 Tamils living in Moreh.

The number of Tamils in Moreh was around 8,000 earlier, but many of them left for Tamil Nadu when armed miscreants demanded huge sums of money from them, ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 rupees, depending on their source of income, locals said.

The ethnic violence broke out on May 3 and has claimed the lives of over 170 people.