Manipur's moral imagination takes off after a crash
There is little to be surprised about this. The inferno that raged in the state for two years was unprecedented and bloody, claiming over 260 lives and displacing an estimated 60,000 people. There has also been a matching scale of losses of properties to arson attacks, and worse still, the two sides have mutually cleansed each other from their traditional home-grounds. The Meiteis are primarily in the Imphal valley and the Kukis-Zo in the foothills adjoining the valley. In the higher reaches are the Nagas.
Probably fatigue and a realisation of the senselessness of continued hostility are ensuring this semblance of calm. But for this 'negative peace', as Johan Galtung called it, to transform into 'positive peace', a reconciliatory process is vital. There can be no gainsaying that horrific atrocities have happened, but in paving a path to reconciliation, both warring sides must first overcome their victimhood syndrome and have the courage to acknowledge they have been both the victims as well as the perpetrators, depending on the locations of riots. Casualty figures bear testimony to this.
From day one of the conflict, social media has played a key role in igniting and fueling inflammatory passions. If not for it, in all likelihood, the trouble could have been arrested at Torbung area itself where arson rampages first broke out on the afternoon of May 3, 2023. Terabytes after terabytes of misinformation and disinformation have flooded social media space ever since, making the overall atmosphere corrosive and toxic.
Then suddenly, an event of 'terrible beauty' happened to temporarily cleanse Manipur's social media spaces of this toxicity. In a devastating tragedy, on June 12, the London-bound Air India flight crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad. Among the cabin crew were two flight attendants from Manipur—one a Kuki, Lamnunthem Singson, 26, and the other a Meitei, Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma, 20.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Kuki MLAs to boycott Manipur's new govt post President's rule
IMPHAL: Manipur's Kuki-Zo community has resolved that its 10 MLAs, including seven from BJP, will not participate in any govt formation if President's rule ends in the state. The move marks a sharp escalation in the state's ethnic and political divide. The decision came at a joint meeting of key Kuki-Zo civil society organisations and community bodies held Friday at Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) secretariat. Representatives from KIM and its units attended alongside district units and department heads. Manipur has been under President's Rule since Feb amid continuing ethnic unrest between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, which erupted in May 2023. The joint meeting has adopted a resolution asserting that the community would never compromise on its ancestral land, culture, identity, and its political, social, and economic rights. While the statement stopped short of making any demand for statehood or administrative separation, the unified declaration is seen as a direct challenge to any attempt at political normalisation in Manipur without addressing Kuki-Zo grievances in Manipur.
Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Economic Times
No Kuki-Zo legislators will not participate in formation of new govt in Manipur: KIM
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Guwahati: Ten Kuki-Zo tribal MLAs, including seven of the BJP have resolved that no Kuki-Zo Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) shall participate or take part in any manner in the formation of a new Popular Government in is under President's rule and there are efforts to form a popular Gangte, general secretary, Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) stated, 'This is to inform all concerned that a joint meeting of the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) along with its federating units Kuki Students' Organisation-General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ), Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi-General Headquarters (KKL-GHQ), Kuki Christian Leaders' Forum (KCLF), Kuki Women's Union-General Headquarters (KWU-GHQ), Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights-General Headquarters (KWOHR-GHQ), Kuki Chiefs' Association-Manipur (KCA-M) - including all District Units of Kuki Inpi and Heads of Departments was held on 4th July, 2025 at the Conference Hall. After due deliberation, it has been unanimously resolved that, No Kuki-Zo Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) shall participate or take part in any manner in the formation of a new Popular Government in the State of Manipur'.KIM added, 'Under no circumstances shall the Kuki-Zo people compromise our ancestral land, culture, identity, and political, social and economic rights. This resolution is the collective political will and aspiration of the Kuki-Zo people and is binding upon all Kuki-Zo representatives and community MLAs have given the assembly session of Manipur a miss since the violence broke out on May 3, BJP MLA from valley districts Y. Khemchand Singh, who is in the race for chief ministership stated that the Central Government has been taking various steps to resolve the crisis in Manipur, which erupted on 3 May, 2023, and has now exceeded two added, 'Among the significant measures taken to restore peace and normalcy in the state, security forces have been conducting search operations to recover illicit arms and ammunition. Notably, in the past month, a substantial quantity of arms and ammunition was seized from the various part of the valley districts, and recently, a significant cache was recovered from the hill districts as well. These efforts are crucial for maintaining law and order in the state and have instilled a sense of hope and security among the functionaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are engaging in talks and peace dialogues with leaders and representatives of various stakeholders, including civil society organizations (CSOs). These discussions have been instrumental in catalysing efforts to bring about peace and normalcy in the state."He said,'Under the able leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah Ji, several initiatives have been undertaken as a first step towards resolving the crisis. His responsible and accountable approach to addressing the crisis, which may take considerable time to resolve, is highly commendable. It is hoped that any hardships faced by the people as a result of the crisis will be acknowledged, and necessary steps will be taken sensibly in the coming days.'
India Today
7 hours ago
- India Today
Manipur's Kuki body bars MLAs from forming new state government
In a major political statement, several influential Kuki-Zo civil and community organisations have passed a resolution barring all Kuki-Zo Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from participating in the formation of any new government in Manipur, whenever it is comes amid tensions in the northeastern state. The state has been under President's Rule since February 13 this year, with the Centre setting a target of December 2025 for the complete resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).advertisementThe resolution was adopted at a joint meeting held on Thursday at the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) Secretariat in Bijang, Churachandpur. The session was attended by top representatives from Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), its federating bodies such as the Kuki Students' Organisation-General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ), Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi-GHQ, Kuki Christian Leaders' Forum (KCLF), Kuki Women's Union-GHQ, Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights-GHQ, Kuki Chiefs' Association-Manipur (KCA-M), along with heads of departments and district detailed deliberations, the gathering unanimously decided that no Kuki-Zo MLA shall "participate or take part in any manner in the formation of a new popular government in the state of Manipur".The resolution declared that the Kuki-Zo people would not compromise on their ancestral land, identity, culture, or political and economic joint statement described the decision as reflective of the "collective political will and aspiration of the Kuki-Zo people" and stated that it is binding on all representatives and community organisations. It also urged strict adherence to the resolution "in letter and spirit".The announcement comes at a time when ten Kuki-Zo MLAs, including seven from the BJP, have been advocating for a separate administration, calling for Union Territory status amid the ethnic violence that broke out on May 3, 2023. The conflict has led to over 250 deaths and the displacement of more than 60,000 the state has witnessed repeated incidents of arms looting. Over 6,000 weapons were reportedly stolen from government armories since the unrest have launched a series of crackdowns to recover illegal weapons. On February 27, 307 weapons were recovered, including 246 deposited by the Meitei group Arambai Tengol. Another operation on June 14 led to the seizure of 328 weapons and 10,600 rounds of ammunition. The most recent crackdown occurred on July 4, when 203 firearms were recovered across multiple districts in one of the largest single-day recoveries in Manipur's history.- EndsMust Watch
