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18-09-2024
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI/ MANIOUR: The Indian government is in talks seeking to resolve a long-running conflict between two ethnic communities in the northeastern state of Manipur, Interior Minister Amit Shah said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Internet and mobile data services were restored in Manipur on Monday, official orders showed, after being suspended in some areas last week when student protests turned violent amid fresh fighting between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki groups.
“We hope that we will be able bring the situation (in Manipur) under control,” Shah told reporters at an event outlining the first 100 days of the third term of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
“If both (ethnic groups) do not come to an understanding, there won’t be a resolution to the matter,” Shah said, adding that the government was prepared with a “road map” outlining a range of efforts for the coming days.
Manipur’s government is led by Modi and Shah’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
The local government imposed a curfew in the Imphal Valley and surrounding districts last week, and government and private colleges in the state, which borders Myanmar, were also ordered shut for a few days.
Schools are set to reopen on Tuesday, according to a government order, while a partial curfew is still in effect.
At least 225 people have died and some 60,000 have been displaced since fighting broke out last year between the Meitei and Kuki communities over the sharing of economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education that are given to the tribal Kukis.
Meanwhile, internet and mobile data services were suspended for five days and an indefinite curfew imposed in some parts of India’s northeastern state of Manipur on Tuesday after student protests over continuing ethnic strife turned violent.
After a brief lull, fighting broke out between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities on Sept. 1 and some attacks involved the use of drones to drop explosive devices, killing civilians. Police say they suspect that the drones were used by Kuki militants, a claim denied by Kuki groups.
Hundreds of Meitei students took to the streets on Monday to protest against the drone attacks, calling for a change in the leadership of the state’s “unified command” that oversees security.
Protesters threw stones and plastic bottles in front of the main gate of the state governor’s residence, police said in a statement. Police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds and about 45 protesters suffered minor injuries, a police officer said.
As protests spilled over into Tuesday, the local government imposed a curfew in the Imphal Valley and surrounding districts and suspended internet services in five valley districts.
Government and private colleges in the state, which borders Myanmar, will also be shut on Wednesday and Thursday, according to an order issued by the government.
Authorities shut down the internet in Manipur last year, in one of India’s longest enforced outages.
In the Thoubal district on Monday, police said a large mob “overpowered personnel on duty”, snatched arms and fired at the police.
“We are using minimum force as a preventive measure to control the crowd,” a police official said, and added that the situation had been brought under control.
