Gun-wielding mobs run rampant in remote Indian region, pushing it to the brink of civil war
The tranquil village of Kangvai in India’s northeastern Manipur state has become a battleground, with armed groups threatening violence and destruction. Zuan Vaiphei, a resident of Kangvai, is now armed and prepared to kill or die to protect himself and his community. From his makeshift bunker, Vaiphei scans the field ahead, knowing that the enemy lurks behind their own sandbag fortifications.
The simmering tensions between the hill tribes and the plainspeople of Manipur erupted into bloodshed two months ago. The conflict arose when the Meiteis, a Hindu majority group, demanded special status allowing them to purchase land in the hills populated by the Kukis and other ethnic tribes, as well as access to government jobs. What followed was a terrifying wave of violence, arson, and hate that left thousands displaced and over 120 dead.
Witnesses have shared harrowing accounts of armed mobs descending upon villages, burning down houses, and massacring civilians. Those who fought back were brutally killed, their bodies sometimes beheaded or thrown into raging fires. Described as as close to civil war as any state in independent India has ever been, by Sushant Singh, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, the situation remains dire despite the presence of Indian troops.
The response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party governs Manipur, has been marked by silence. His home minister, Amit Shah, made attempts to bring peace between the warring factions, but a resolution remains elusive. State lawmakers, many of whom fled their torched homes, have convened in New Delhi to find a solution.
While the government claims Manipur is returning to normalcy, fresh clashes continue to erupt. Meiteis have long blamed the Kukis for the state’s drug problems and accused them of harboring migrants from Myanmar. Recent clashes have led Chief Minister N. Biren Singh to label some of those involved as terrorists, leading to a crackdown on Kukis by the predominantly Meitei administration.
For the victims, the trauma of the clashes lingers. In relief camps, displaced Kukis share stories of death and destruction. A.Ramesh Singh, a former soldier, was shot and killed defending his village from an attacking Meitei mob. Kim Neineng’s husband was brutally beaten, had his legs chopped off, and was tossed into a raging fire.
As the region teeters on the edge of civil war, the need for a swift resolution is urgent. Until then, the sound of gunfire and the sight of sandbag fortifications will continue to haunt the villages of Manipur, where fear and violence prevail.
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