Fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam a day after peace talks

-, Aug 03, 2024, India Blooms News Service136

Imphal/IBNS: A fresh incident of arson took place in Manipurs Jiribam on Friday night, a day after Meitei and Hmar groups held a peace meeting, media reports said.

A Meitei familys house was burnt in the arson, which took place in Jiribams Lalpani.

Jiribam SP M. Pradip Singh said as quoted by The Indian Express, We sent a combined team with the CRPF. There was some provocation but we have controlled the situation without further escalation.

We are meeting to deliberate on how to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

Nine civil society organisations leaders from Jiribam sat for a peace meeting at the CRPF Group Centre in Cachar on Thursday.

The organisations had representatives from Meitei, Hmar, Thadou, Paitei and Mizo.

Among the resolutions which the groups had agreed upon was the efforts to bring normalcy and prevent incidents of arson.

The second and third resolutions were cooperation with security forces and controlled and coordinated movement respectively.

Ethnic violence in Manipur

More than 200 people died and about 50,000 others displaced after the ethnic clash between the Meiteis and Kukis broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023.

The outbreak of violence in Manipur can be traced back to the Tribal Solidarity March initiated by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM).

The march was organized as a form of protest against the demand to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

The march served as a catalyst for the subsequent escalation of violence in the region.

Approximately 53 percent of the population in Manipur comprises Meiteis, residing predominantly in the Imphal Valley, while the remaining 40 percent consists of tribal communities such as Kukis, residing primarily in the hill districts surrounding the Valley.