The violence in Manipur bordering Myanmar first erupted on May 3 when the Kuki tribal group who inhabit the hills clashed with the non-tribal ethnic majority Meitei living on the plains over sharing economic benefits and quotas given to the tribes.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday appealed to the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur to sit together and hold ‘heart to heart talk’ to solve the ongoing crisis.
An eerie calm pervades the village atmosphere with ethnic tension still lurking, threatening to rupture any moment. Tell-tale signs of displacement and insecurity, a deep sense of fear and abandonment writ large among the locals. Way to the village one would encounter barricades manned by automatic rifles yielding security personnel all along.
Despite the heart wrenching tragedy back home, these players transcended the adversities and sorrow and focused on a singular focus of clinching the championship, and shared laughter and meals in between.
Atouba Khuraijam, Spokesperson, COCOMI, while talking about the fresh firing incident in Manipur, said, "for much of the terrain, as per our experience in...
"What we heard last was that there was a peace agreement between the citizens of the parallel between the Kuki and Meitei; they have signed an agreement where they will uphold the peace in the district; however, this morning this peace was broken by the gunfire from the Meitei site," he added.
Hundreds of individuals on Wednesday defied the curfew in Manipur's Bishnupur district and marched towards the heavily fortified security barricade, which has been strategically positioned between the Kuki-majority Churachandpur and Meitei-majority Bishnupur districts.
The residents of Manipur’s Dingpi area staged a protest over the proposed deployment of the Assam Rifles Unit under the command of a Meitei officer at Sehlon in Chandel district.
