Parth M.N.

Priti David

Editor

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For Khuma Thiek, the
mere thought of going back to his village of <a></a><a></a>Langza  in Manipur’s Churachandpur district sends
shivers down his spine. Langza had been home to the 64-year-old farmer for 30
years. It was a place of warmth and familiarity where he raised his son David,
packed him lunches for school, and where they worked together on their paddy fields. It
was also the place where he became a grandfather for the first time. Langza was
Khuma’s world. A world he was content with. 

Until July 2,
2023.  

That day
violently erased a lifetime of memories and left Khuma with an image he is not
able to get out of his head. It’s an image that doesn’t let him sleep. It’s an
image that doesn’t let him stay up. It’s an image of his son’s severed head
placed atop a bamboo fence right at the entrance of Langza. 

Khuma’s home
state of Manipur in India’s northeast region has been embroiled in an ethnic
conflict since May 3, 2023. In late March, the High Court in Manipur awarded
the dominant Meitei community “tribal status” that gives them access to
economic benefits and quotas for government jobs. It also allows them to
purchase land in the hilly areas where Kuki tribes are concentrated. The
decision was later stayed by the Supreme Court.

The Kuki community –
28 per cent of the state’s population – believe the decision would have
strengthened the Meitei’s stronghold over the state in which they already make
up 53 per cent of the population.

On May 3, some
from the Kuki community staged a rally in Churachandpur district to protest the
court ruling. 

After the
protest, an Anglo-Kuki War memorial gate — marking a Kuki rebellion in 1917
against the colonial British rule in Churachandpur was set on fire by Meiteis.
This triggered widespread riots that killed 60 people in the first four days.

It was the start
of a wildfire of violence and mayhem that would spread across the state, with
barbaric murders, beheadings, gang rapes, and arson. So far, about 190 people
have been killed, and over 60,000 have become homeless – most of whom are
Kukis. The latter have accused the state and police of abetting the Meitei
militants in this civil war. 

The lack of trust
between the two communities has compelled them to form their own village
defence forces, guarding against the enemy that was once a neighbour.

In the wee hours
of July 2, Khuma’s son, 33-year-old David was among those guarding the Kuki
village of Langza when it was suddenly attacked by an armed Meitei mob. Langza
is located on the border of Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district and
Meitei-dominated Imphal valley, making it a volatile location.

Realising the
residents didn’t have much time, David frantically rushed back and told people
to run for their lives while he would keep the armed mob at bay. “We gathered
whatever little we could and ran for the deeper areas in the hills where our
tribes are concentrated,” says Khuma. “David promised he would be on his way
soon. He had a scooter.”

David and the
other guards had bought enough time for his family to escape. But not for
himself. He was chased down before he could get on his scooter, and beheaded in
the village. His body was cut into pieces and burnt. 

“I have been
traumatised ever since that day,” says Khuma, who now lives with his brother
deeper in the hills of Churachandpur district. “I often wake up in the middle
of the night shivering. I haven’t been able to sleep properly. There is a
photograph of a man walking with my son’s chopped head. I can’t get it out of
my head.”

Across Manipur,
there are thousands of people like Khuma, who have been displaced. They do not
recognize what they once called home. Struggling with a lack of resources and
traumatic memories, victims of the civil war have either been sheltered by
generous relatives or have been forced to take refuge in relief camps managed
by charities. 

In the village of<a></a> <a></a>Lingsiphai  in Lamka tehsil
of Churachandpur district, Boishi Thang, 35, has taken shelter in a relief camp
with four of her kids aged 3 to 12 after her village of<a></a><a></a> Hao Khong Ching in the district of Kangpokpi came under attack on 3 May. “The Meitei mobs had
torched three of the nearby villages and were coming to get us,” she says. “We
didn’t have a lot of time so children and women were asked to leave first.”

Her husband Lal
Tin Thang, 34, stayed back with other men in the village, while Boishi escaped
deeper into the forests to a Naga village. The Naga tribes sheltered her and
the kids, where she spent the night waiting for her husband. 

One of the men
from the Naga community offered to go to her village to check if Lal Tin Thang
was safe. But he returned with the news that confirmed Boishi’s worst fear. Her
husband was caught, tortured and burnt alive. “I didn’t even have time to
grieve or process the death of my husband,” says Boishi. “I was preoccupied
with keeping my kids safe. The next morning, Nagas dropped me off at a Kuki
village, from where I came to Churachandpur. I don’t think I will ever return
home. Our life is more important than our livelihood.”

Boishi and her
husband had a five-acre paddy field in the village, which sustained their
household. But she can’t imagine going back to it. Churachandpur is a safe
place for the Kukis currently because there are no Meiteis around. For a woman
who had lived her life near Meitei villages, Boishi today panics at the thought
of mingling with them. “Our village had several Meitei villages around it,” she
says. “They ran the bazaars, and we
were their customers. It was an amicable relationship.”

But today, there
is complete breakdown of trust between the two communities in Manipur. The
state is partitioned with the Meiteis in the Imphal valley, while Kukis live in
the hilly districts surrounding the valley. Venturing into each other’s
territory is a death sentence. Kuki areas in Imphal are completely deserted. Meiteis in Kuki-dominated
districts have been driven out of the hills.

At a Meitei relief camp in Imphal, Hema Bati Moirangthem,
50, recalls how she escaped with her paralysed brother when her town of <a></a><a></a>Moreh  was
attacked by a Kuki mob. “My one-room house was also torched,” she says. “My
nephew had called for the police. We had to hope they arrived before we were
burnt to death.”

The Kuki mob had swarmed the town of Moreh – on the
India-Myanmar border – and Hema couldn’t run with her brother due to his
inability to move. “He told me to go but I couldn’t forgive myself if I did that,” she says. 

For 10 years, the three of them had been each other’s home
after Hema’s husband died in an accident. It was never an option to sacrifice
one for the safety of others. Whatever had to happen, it would happen to all
three of them. 

When the police arrived, Hema and her nephew picked
her brother up and brought him to the police car through their burning home.
The police dropped the three of them to Imphal – 110 kilometres away – to
safety. “I have been at this relief camp since then,” she says. “My nephew and
brother are with one of our relatives.”

Hema, who ran a
grocery store in Moreh, is now dependent on charity for survival. She sleeps in
a dorm-like room with 20 other strangers. She eats food out of a common
kitchen, and wears donated clothes. “It is not a great feeling,” she says.
“Even after my husband died, I have always been self-sufficient. I have looked
after my brother and myself. I don’t know how long we have to live like this.”

Civilians across
Manipur are slowly coming to terms with losing their homes, their livelihoods
and their loved ones. 

<a></a>For Khuma, even though he is no stranger to losing a loved one, the
death of David is hard to accept. About 30 years ago, he lost his daughter to
cholera when she was two. His wife died of cancer 25 years ago. But David’s
death has created a much bigger void – the young man was all he had.

<a></a>Khuma had raised David on his own. He had attended the school’s
parent-teacher meetings. He had advised him on which college to enrol in after
he graduated from high school. He was there when David first told him he wanted
to get married. 

After all these years
of living with each other, their family had finally begun to grow once again.
David got married three years ago and had a child a year later. He imagined
playing with his grandkid as a senior citizen and helping raise him. But the
family has been driven apart again. David’s wife and child are with her mother
in another village. And Khuma is with his brother. All he has is memories. Some
he wants to hold onto. One he wants to get rid of.

In Manipur: ashes and dust

منی پور کے تشدد میں خاک ہو چکی زندگی

మణిపుర్‌లో బూడిద కుప్పలు, మసక బారిన జీవితాలు

மணிப்பூரின் சாம்பலும் அழுக்கும்

ਸੜ ਕੇ ਸਵਾਹ ਹੋਇਆ ਮਨੀਪੁਰ

ମଣିପୁରରେ, ଖାଲି ପାଉଁଶ ଆଉ ଧୂଳି

ചാരവും പൊടിയും ബാക്കിയാകുന്ന മണിപ്പൂർ

ಬೂದಿ – ಧೂಳಿನಡಿ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಹೋಗಿರುವ ಮಣಿಪುರ

मणिपुर: राख हो चुकी उम्मीदें, धुआं हो चुकी ज़िंदगी

ભડકે બળીને ધૂળ અને રાખ ભેગું થયું મણિપુર

मणिपुर मं राख होगे आस, कुंहरत हवय जिनगी

मणिपुर: अमन-चैन स्वाहा भइल, राख भइल जिनगी

ভস্ম আর ধুলোয় ভারাক্রান্ত মণিপুর

মণিপুৰৰ সৰ্বত্ৰে এতিয়া জুই, ধোঁৱা আৰু ছাই...

Churachandpur

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In Manipur: ashes and dust

People from both Kuki and Meitei communities are now stuck in relief camps; memories of the savage killings are fresh in their minds. They don't know what the future will bring

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