Free movement, resettlement will take time, Home Ministry officials tell Meitei civil society groups
The resumption of free movement for all communities along the National Highways in Manipur, and the resettlement of internally displaced people are 'going to take some time', Home Ministry officials told a delegation of Meitei civil society groups at a meeting in the National Capital. The officials 'clearly stated' that this is 'not achievable in a few months or a few weeks', the Meitei groups said in a press conference on Wednesday (May 28, 2025), a day after the meeting.
The Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS), an Imphal-based coalition of civil society groups from Manipur's valley regions, met with an MHA team led by North-East Adviser A.K. Mishra on Tuesday afternoon, even as protests broke out in Imphal again related to an alleged cover-up of the word 'Manipur' on a State bus.
'There was a fruitful and constructive discussion on a range of issues with officials of MHA on Tuesday. It was clearly stated by MHA that the issues of opening National Highways, resettlement of the internally displaced persons, these are going to take some time. This is not achievable in a few months or a few weeks.' FOCS consultative member Puyam Rakesh said at the press conference.
'No specific timeline'
At a security review meeting on March 1 this year, Home Minister Amit Shah had directed that from March 8, there would be free movement along the highways, which have been blocked since the ethnic violence erupted on May 3, 2023. However, on March 8, amidst attempts to enforce this direction, a 19-year-old man was killed and more than 40 people were injured in Kangpokpi district as Kuki-Zo people clashed with Central armed police forces.
Speaking on behalf of the FOCS delegation, Mr. Rakesh alleged that 'the Union government is reluctant to use excessive force to reopen the highway', adding that the MHA officials did not give any 'specific timeline' for when these issues, such as free movement on the highways and resettlement of displaced persons, could be addressed. 'We understand that these issues take time, but we urged for addressing immediate concerns of displaced persons, taking care of their financial needs, taking care of medical needs, and ensuring education for the children,' he said.
'That was the message given to us by the Government of India. We look forward to having more rounds of talks and also intercommunity dialogue with the Kuki-Zo community, which will be very important for restoring normalcy and peace i Manipur,' Mr. Rakesh said. While FOCS has agreed to engage with Kuki-Zo community associations, the delegation from Coordination Committee for Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), another Meitei group which met separately with MHA officials clarified that it will engage 'exclusively with Government of India'.
Also read | Bus incident: Manipur group announces civil disobedience
'State is burning again'
The FOCS made it a point to note that there have been 'some concrete steps' taken by the administration since the imposition of President's Rule, with a 'successful de-escalation' in the last few months. However, Mr. Rakesh indicated that the situation has been deteriorating again since last week's incident in Gwaltabi, when security forces tried to cover up the word 'Manipur' on a State transport bus that was ferrying journalists to the hill district of Ukhrul for the Shirui Lily festival.
The incident has 'hurt the sentiments of the people of Manipur, and the State is now burning again, and women and children are on the streets protesting,' Mr. Rakesh said. 'This [incident] has been perceived, rightly or wrongly, as an attempt to dismember the State of Manipur.'
With reports emerging from Imphal that a group of MLAs were meeting with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to stake their claim to form a government in the State, Mr. Rakesh said, 'We welcome a popular government if it has the political will to act in coordination with the Centre to do the needful which can positively change the situation on the ground. But we are not demanding it for the moment.'
Gwaltabi incident 'deeply regretted'
The ongoing protests in Imphal, which were part of a 'civil disobedience' call given by the COCOMI, displayed banners that said, 'President's Rule must stop insulting Manipur's integrity.'
On Wednesday, the Office of the Chief Secretary of Manipur issued a press release, clarifying that there have been 'no instructions whatsoever or even remote thought of covering the name of the State, as has been alleged'. It added that the 'reported untoward incident' is being treated with 'utmost seriousness' and is 'deeply regretted', adding that once the Commission formed by the Governor submits its report, and 'those responsible for the lapses, if any, are identified, strict action would be taken'.
'Evading responsibility'
Mr. Rakesh added that the FOCS delegation also raised concerns about 'seasoned politicians' — including Union Ministers Amit Shah, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Kiren Rijiju — making comments about Manipur having a 'history or tradition' of ethnic conflicts. This was 'sending a message that is normalising the violence' in the State, the FOCS delegate said.
'We see this as getting away from responsibility rather than taking accountability for the problems of the people of Manipur. These narratives are not doing anything good for the people of the State. Such insensitive statements should be avoided,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Not going to fall for ...': Jaishankar says India won't be deterred by nuclear blackmail; rebuts Trump
External affairs minister S Jaishankar (File photo) NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday again reiterated in no uncertain terms that India would not yield to nuclear blackmail and that New Delhi was "not going to fall for" the world worrying about the consequences of attacking nuclear-armed Pakistan. Jaishankar said terrorists would be dealt with "no impunity" and even the government that backs such terror outfits won't be spared. "We are very clear there will be no impunity for terrorists, that we will not deal with them any longer as proxies and spare the government which supports and finances and in many ways, motivates them. We will not allow nuclear blackmail to prevent us from responding,' Jaishankar said during an interview with Newsweek hosted at the publication's headquarters at One World Trade Centre near the 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan. The external affairs minister said, 'we've also heard this for too long' that both India and Pakistan are nuclear countries and 'therefore the other guy will come and do horrible things, but you mustn't do anything because it gets the world worried". 'Now we are not going to fall for that. If he is going to come and do things, we are going to go there and also hit the people who did this. So no yielding to nuclear blackmail, no impunity to terrorists, no more free pass that they are proxies. And we will do what we have to do to defend our people,' Jaishankar said amid applause from the audience. Pahalgam attack 'economic warfare' Jaishankar described the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam as an act of 'economic warfare' intended to destroy tourism in Kashmir. Referring to a long pattern of cross-border attacks, Jaishankar said there was a sentiment in the country that 'enough is enough'. He pointed out that the Pakistan-based terrorists targeting India do not operate in secrecy, and likened their infrastructure to corporate entities housed openly in urban areas. 'These are terrorist organisations who have the 'equivalent of their corporate headquarters in the populated towns of Pakistan,'' he said. 'Everybody knows what is the headquarters of organisation A and organisation B and those are the buildings, the headquarters that India destroyed,' he added. India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre, striking at terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility for the attack. In the operation, the forces hit hotbeds of terror in Pakistan's Bahawalpur and Muridke. Jaishankar debunks Trump's trade 'warning' During a Q&A session after the discussion, Jaishankar was asked whether President Donald Trump's claim of using trade to halt the recent India-Pakistan conflict had impacted ongoing trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington. 'No, I don't think so. I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiate with numbers and lines and products and do their trade-offs. I think they are very professional and very, very focused about it,' Jaishankar said. He said that there is a national consensus in India that 'our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral. 'And in this particular case, I can tell you that I was in the room when Vice President (JD) Vance spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on the night of May 9, saying that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things. 'And the Prime Minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do. On the contrary, he indicated that there would be a response from us. This was the night before and the Pakistanis did attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter," Jaishankar said. "And the next morning, Mr (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened. The rest I leave to you," he said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Karnataka pushes jail terms for spreading 'fake news', sparks worries
With nearly 1 billion internet users, the stakes are high in a sprawling country of many ethnic and religious communities where fake news risks stirring deadly strife Reuters BENGALURU Draft legislation by India's tech hub state of Karnataka that would impose jail terms of up to seven years for spreading "fake news" and other misinformation has stirred concerns among free speech activists that it could lead to censorship. With nearly 1 billion internet users, the stakes are high in a sprawling country of many ethnic and religious communities where fake news risks stirring deadly strife and AI deepfake videos have alarmed officials during elections. India's federal government already regulates social media content with legislation empowering it to order takedowns of disputed content. But some states such as Karnataka have begun taking their own measures. Karnataka's bill, the strictest of its kind yet, stipulates that those posting "fake news" and "anti-feminist" content, or "promoting superstition", would face imprisonment along with potential fines. The 11-page Karnataka Mis-Information And Fake News (Prohibition) Bill does not define such offences in practice, but said special courts and a regulatory committee would be set up to implement it. Free speech advocates have cited what they say would be the risk of selective enforcement arising from Karnataka's measure and flagged concerns that people posting memes or making honest mistakes online could be prosecuted. "Misinformation is fairly subjective and every person who uses the internet is susceptible to falling within the dragnet of this law," said Apar Gupta, founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital advocacy group which first made the Karnataka draft legislation public. The state government of Karnataka, home to the city of Bengaluru that hosts the offices or branches of many Indian and foreign tech giants, has said the bill will be released for public consultation before implementation. Priyank Kharge, Karnataka's IT minister, said on Friday "there is a lot of misinformation on the proposed Misinformation Bill in public". He later added that the "sole objective is to address the growing digital information disorder" and the government's focus was to tackle misinformation and fake news, "and nothing beyond that". He did not immediately respond to Reuters calls seeking further comment on Monday. Karnataka's move could risk creating multiple regulations imposing conflicting obligations and regulatory challenges for companies, said Aman Taneja, partner at law and policy firm Ikigai. Some Indian media have sharply criticised the draft bill. The Deccan Herald newspaper on Monday titled an opinion piece "A remedy that's worse than the menace", saying the Karnataka government should "do away with the criminal provisions" in the legislation. India has over the years held talks with US tech giants like Google it sees as having been slow to remove fake news posts, and New Delhi in 2019 set up a "Fact Check Unit" to debunk what it sees as misinformation.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Turkey: Cartoonist detained for satire on Prophet Muhammad; govt calls it 'ugly humour'
A Turkish cartoonist was detained and his satirical magazine targeted by protesters after publishing a controversial cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad, a move that has reignited a fierce debate over free speech and religious sensitivity in the country. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the arrest on Monday, posting a video on X showing the cartoonist, identified only as DP, being handcuffed and escorted by officers down a stairwell. He said the artist was taken into custody for questioning. The cartoon, published by the Istanbul-based Leman magazine, showed the Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses exchanging greetings mid-air while missiles rained down around them. The image quickly triggered outrage, including an attack on the magazine's headquarters, where a group of young men reportedly associated with an Islamist organisation hurled stones at the building. Justice minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation had been opened into the magazine, citing potential charges of 'publicly insulting religious values.' 'Cartoons or drawings depicting the Prophet harmed religious sensitivities and social harmony,' Tunc said. 'No freedom grants the right to make the sacred values of a belief a subject of humour in an ugly way,' he added. The episode drew comparisons to the 2015 attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, where gunmen killed 12 people after the outlet published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad -- a tragedy that underscored the risks faced by artists and journalists tackling religious taboos. Two French-born Algerian Muslim brothers Saïd Kouachi and Chérif Kouachi carried out the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, storming Charlie Hebdo's offices in Paris, spraying gunfire on January 7, 2015, nearly a decade after the weekly published cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. A third attacker, Amedy Coulibaly, killed a police woman and then four Jewish hostages in a kosher supermarket in a Paris suburb. Like the Kouachis, Coulibaly was killed in a shootout with police.
