Manipur viral video: 'Moral breakdown within the community'; Meiteis face razor-sharp questions over morality

Constraints of distance, concerns at heart, chaos and cinders at home or that scary feeling of hiraeth, which is the Welsh word for longing for a home that no longer exists, the anxieties for those away from their homes in Manipur now are many, especially of those from the Kuki community after that ugly video of two women paraded naked from the community by another emerged. The anger and the angst of helplessness “As a woman from the Kuki community, such an act is a complete violation of our rights and a complete defilement of our modesty and chastity. I feel humiliated, a part of me died ever since I heard the news. Manipur has always been a state of internal conflicts mostly ethnic in nature. So far it has led to nothing but chaos and mayhem. There has been no permanent solution for any of our issues that have been drawn up as long as I can remember,” said a 26-year-old Kuki woman in Delhi, deeply saddened by what is going on in her home state of Manipur. Preferring to remain anonymous, the Kuki woman, whom we will refer to as Niang for the sake of the story, finds herself engulfed in utter uncertainty as her thoughts drift back to her home state of Manipur, now embroiled in tumultuous times. On 4 May, two Kuki women were paraded naked by a mob of Meitei men when the ethnic clashes started in the state. The women were forcibly taken away from police custody, and the police could have acted much earlier, rather than springing into action only after the video came out. “Parading women naked by a mob is the most heinous of all crimes and an inhumane act, regardless of the community involved. It serves as foolproof evidence and showcases the structural and moral breakdown within the community committing such a crime. Speaking from the Kuki context, we are known to be a community with a culture that has long been known to respect women despite following a patriarchal system. There is no place for misogyny among the Kukis,” Niang said mincing no words for the Meitei community at large. Kayia, a working Naga woman from Manipur in the National Capital, indirectly directed her anger towards the Meitei community. She too preferred not to reveal her real name. “Irrespective of which community they belong to, parading women naked by a mob is an attack on humanity. The community disrespecting women to that extent has lost all sense of morality. It leaves one wondering about the moral compass of a community that participates in such unthinkable acts,” she said. It appears that the world has finally become aware of the situation in Manipur, following the circulation of a deeply unfortunate video depicting unspeakable sexual assault on three women, even though only two were seen in the video. Now, arrests have been made after 75 days since the crime, and both the Central and state governments are proactively working to showcase results. With the video starting to circulate just a day before the Monsoon Session of Parliament began on Thursday, remaining silent would have amounted to inaction, which neither the central nor the state governments could afford to risk, especially with upcoming elections for both the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly. Although purely for political reasons, the cacophony from the opposition benches within and outside Parliament might also result in some action. Niang is also unhappy with the manner the Meitei women’s organisations have reacted to the incident that the video brought to light. “There have been condemnations from our Meitei counterparts and an organisation called Girl Up Manipur. But that’s all on paper and just verbal. So we’ll have to see if that converts into action,” she said. Although the powerful women’s organisation of the Meiteis, the Meira Paibis, reacted sharply to the heinous act, the Kuki community seemed unconvinced. “There is no way of coexisting with the Meiteis ever again. It would mean walking into our own graves. The hatred has run too deep that a conciliation nor a coexistence has become impossible,” said Niang. Meitei makes peace with Nagas, but enmity with Kukis deepens “I personally believe that this war has been planned by the Meiteis long back, and the target has been the Kukis. It goes way beyond the demand for Schedule Tribe status by the Meiteis. Kukis, the entire community, are the target. For now, Nagas are out of the conflict. So, when we show our ID cards, even in the capital (Imphal) where Meiteis dominate, they make sure that we Nagas are not harmed. The Meiteis do not fear the Kukis. Meiteis fear the Nagas,” said Nini (name changed), a Naga woman from Manipur who is working in New Delhi. The sensitivity and volatility of the situation in Manipur are evident as none of the individuals contacted for this piece were willing to disclose their real identities, indicating that fear and anxiety have extended beyond the state’s borders. Kayia did not like the way her community elders behaved in this situation. “I am definitely not happy with the community elders. Being seemingly passive or silent in times of grave injustice appears to be complicit. Silence in times of majoritarian oppression is impunity and tacit approval of the atrocities and injustice of the minority. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the oppressed,” she said. Standoffish nature of the government, feel many “The state and the Centre have completely failed us and we shall not forget. Their passive and delayed action is a testimony in itself. Many lives would have been saved had they intervened instantly. Also, the situation may not have culminated in the present state had they shown interest and jumped into action. No personnel either from the state and Centre came for the first 2/3 days, a time when most of the horrendous acts took place. There was complete anarchy,” said Niang. “At the initial days of the ethnic cleansing, everyone, especially the Kukis, felt abandoned because of the silence from both the state and Central government.” The Naga community too felt the government left the state to fend for itself despite such large-scale violence and tremendous loss of life and property. “As a woman from the Naga community, all I can say is that the government is playing favouritism (for now). Initially, it was Kuki-Naga vs the Meiteis/Meeteis. Now, they are attacking the Kukis while safeguarding the Nagas. The government is planting the seed of divide and rule. Due to this policy, the Kukis have lost faith in their Naga brethren for being mute spectators to all the chaos and mayhem. Moreover, I don’t see any peaceful co-existence from both the Meitei and Kuki communities in the near future. The wounds may heal with time, but the scars will remain,” said Kayia. “The government at the Centre seems to be complicit. The state government has labelled all the Kukis under one broad spectrum as ‘illegal migrants’. They have not made sufficient (or any) efforts to bridge or mediate for peace. It leaves one wondering whether it is the strategy of the government to allow the warring communities to fight to the end or if it is the intent of the government to drive out the tribals and occupy their lands in Manipur. A violence that has been made to last for 70-odd days with innocent civilians being killed almost daily, yet the Centre being silent on the issue for so long has failed miserably in protecting its citizens. It feels like the country has abandoned Manipur,” she said. Burden on the younger generation With such severe ethnic strife going on in and around them, there is no doubt that the younger generations in Manipur will have lasting impressions on their brains. For them navigating the course of the future will be really hard with fear and uncertainty lurking everywhere in the safest place that is bound to be on earth – home. “What the younger generation from both communities can do is learn from the shortcomings and misgivings of their preceding generation to avoid another genocide or ethnic cleansing. I also want them to be truth seekers and fact finders, not people who are swayed away by hearsay and rumours,” said Niang. That feeling of distance, that pang of loneliness For those who are currently far from Manipur, they may indeed be physically safe, but deep within their hearts lies a different tale - one of the tyranny of distance that separates them from their homeland, the constant longing to return, the fervent desire for lasting peace, and the unwavering hope for an end to all the bloodshed. Their hearts carry the weight of nostalgia, the yearning for a place they call home, and a profound aspiration to witness a harmonious and tranquil future for their beloved Manipur. “Though I am far from home the situation back at home pains me an awful lot. I am filled with grief, anger, fear and helplessness,” said Kayia. The anguish must resonate not only within Bharat, not just within India as a nation, but also within all of us, the inhabitants of this planet and citizens of this country. It cannot be achieved through the unattached rancour of overnight Manipur cognoscenti but through those who have dedicated their heart and soul to it. For, unless the pain is shared, Manipur will continue to suffer and bleed and will remain a poignant reminder of our collective failure to bring true harmony. Let the future be not blood-soaked and marred by disunity and inhumanity! Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.