Manipur: Internet Suspended, Curfew Imposed as Tribal Groups Protest over ST Quota to Meitei
Curfew was imposed and internet services were suspended for five days with immediate effect in Manipur’s Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts as well as the state capital Imphal on Wednesday. The assembly of five or more persons has been prohibited in these areas as tension flared in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district following violence at a rally by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur.
According to reports, a hill-based community allegedly targeted youths belonging to a particular community on the road. The incident led to state security forces rushing to the spot, as some property belonging to certain communities was torched.
The solidarity march was organised by tribal bodies of Manipur, protesting against the inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei community in the scheduled tribes (ST) list. The All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) had announced the march in the hill districts of Senapati, Ukhrul, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, Chandel and Tengnoupal. Several protesters carrying placards took part in the rally, supporting ATSUM’s solidarity march themed ‘Come now let’s reason together’.
Despite the peaceful nature of the march, there were isolated reports of protesters burning tyres and a forest beat office at Bungmual.
In an official memorandum dated April 27, the ATSUM had announced its decision to hold the solidarity march on May 3, stating that the meeting of the tribal student organisations on April 21 had endorsed the decision. The memorandum also formed a district-level coordination team to facilitate the success of the proposed march in each hill district, with assigned responsibilities, including coordinating with the apex organisation of the concerned district, mobilisation of resources and participants, effective media coverage, and other necessary arrangements.
Tribal villagers from interior hill areas came in buses and open trucks to the nearest hill district headquarters to attend the rallies. In Naga-dominated Senapati town, the district headquarters with the same name and located about 58 km from Imphal, the local bodies forced total shutdown of markets and suspension of public transport from 10 am to 1 pm to ensure that maximum number of demonstrators take part in the rally. Thousands of tribals who make up about 40 percent of the population, joined the processions, waved placards and raised slogans opposing ST status for the Meitei community.
Representatives of the Senapati District Students’ Association also met the deputy commissioner and apprised him of their concerns. At Churachandpur district, the second largest town in the state, people defied prohibitory orders and gathered at the public ground and took a rally till Tuibong peace ground to show their support to ATSUM, police said.
Prohibitory orders were clamped for an indefinite period in the town last week following violent protests against a drive to evict villagers from reserved forest areas. Security forces were rushed to the town from other parts of Manipur to control the situation after the vandalisation of a venue where chief minister N Biren Singh was scheduled to address a programme.
The Meitei community forms 53 percent of the state’s population. It has time and again claimed that it is facing difficulty due to large-scale “illegal immigration from Myanmar and Bangladesh”.
Lawmakers of the valley areas have earlier openly endorsed the demand by some Meitei organisation for ST status for the majority community in Manipur, alarming communities who figure in the ST list. The hill districts, which account for much of the state’s land mass, are inhabited mostly by tribals including the Nagas and Kukis.
(With PTI inputs)
