On Thursday, May 25th, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that he would visit ethnic violence-hit Manipur after a few days and stay there for three days to resolve the ongoing conflict there. He appealed to people in Manipur to maintain peace.
Shah promised the people of Manipur that justice will be done to everyone in the state.
Shah said, “There were clashes in Manipur after the verdict of a court. I would appeal to both groups they should maintain peace, and justice will be given to all who suffered in the clashes. I will myself go to Manipur after few days and will stay there for three days and will talk to people of Manipur for establishing peace”.
“But before that, both groups should remove mistrust and suspicion among themselves and ensure that peace is restored in the state”, he added.
Shah made his remarks after a renewed spurt of violence, arson, and vandalism in Manipur on Wednesday that left one person dead and two wounded. According to reports, suspected militants opened fire at a group of people – the majority of whom were displaced during the recent ethnic clashes in Churachandpur and took shelter in a relief camp at Moirang in Bishnupur.
Inter-ethnic violence broke out in Manipur during a solidarity march organised by the All-Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in opposition to an April 19th Manipur High Court order directing the state government to consider giving the Meitei community the scheduled caste (ST) reservation which has resulted in tensions in Manipur since May 3rd.
Seventy people have been killed at least in the violence so far, with thousands of people being displaced. Around 2,000 houses were also burned down across the state.
Thousands of military and paramilitary personnel have been deployed to the state, where a curfew has been implemented and the internet has been down for many weeks. In the meantime, in view of the fresh violence, an indefinite curfew has been reimposed on Wednesday, May 24th, in the flashpoint Bishnupur district.
