Manipur’s hilly region once again witnessed fresh firing today. There are many villages where violence took place throughout the day. Security forces are active in the region.

Sources claimed that these villages in and around Sugnu Town, Chandel district have witnessed violence throughout the day.

The MTF claimed that these villages  Lanching,  Gamnom,. Zouveng,  Sugnu tribal colony, K Munnomjang.  Saronphai, Salemphai, Gothol, Sugnu Lokhijang, Kholim, Sugnu Lamhang, and Zoumunnuam have seen the violence.

Speaking to The Statesman, the MTF co-convener V Naulakh said, “There should not be any violence in the first place. The government should look into the reasons why the violence is not stopping. And there is no big theory needed for that. All parties need to be heard and the issues need to be addressed.  Dialogues can take place when there is peace. Peace can only be achieved when the real reasons have been allowed to come out in the open”.

The residents of Manipur have allegedly been disappointed by the security forces. They allegedly claimed that security forces are not acting fairly.

“We have seen security forces act in favour of one community. This is not acceptable. And we are not saying this without any ground. If we have raised this issue the government needs to pay attention to it. And this attention will solve the issue”.

There is an age-old conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities in the region. Meitei is the Hindu group that has maximum representation in the assembly. The Meitei community’s support allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a government. Kuki follows Christianity. The Kukis live in the hills of Manipur while Meitei communities live in the plains of the region.

The Meitei community wants to be included in the scheduled tribe category while the Kuki Community of Manipur has been in the scheduled tribe category since 1950. This difference is becoming wider by the day. And this has been the bone of contention and turned the situation volatile.

On his second day of visit to Manipur, the Union Home Minister had wide-ranging discussions with civil society organizations at Imphal. He met a delegation of Women leaders (Meira Paibis) in Imphal. Reiterating the significance of the role of women in the society of Manipur, Shah said that together, we are committed to ensuring peace and prosperity in the state.

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Manipur recently. He interacted with the delegations of various local groups in Moreh followed by meeting with Civil Society Organisations in Kangpokpi. He conducted a security review meeting in Imphal. And the violence was checked for a few days.

Speaking to The Statesman, Kallol Bhowmick, a Delhi-based journalist,  working for Niyomiya Barta says, “Issues are there and they need to be addressed. Any kind of doubt raised even if that is false needs to be heard and that is the only way to get out of the situation”.