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Last updated: 05 May 2023, 17:02 IST
Cars were set on fire after violence broke out during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ called by the Tribal Students Union of Manipur in Imphal on Thursday. (PTI)
Sources said on Friday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is closely monitoring the situation in Manipur and is in constant contact with senior officials of the state and central governments.
Widespread violence broke out in Manipur on 3 May against an order of the state government’s high court regarding the inclusion of the Meiteis in the category of Scheduled Tribes. In the wake of the ongoing clashes, the Manipur government on Thursday had to resort to an “extreme cases” order to contain the worsening violence.
Clashes first erupted when tribal groups in Manipur called for a complete 12-hour lockdown in protest of the state government’s survey of reserved forests/protected forests and evictions from villages on the day of Prime Minister Biren Singh’s visit to Churachandpur on 28 April. .
The violence then escalated on Wednesday with counter-attacks by other communities in response to previous attacks. Subsequently, the Naga and Koki tribes organized a “Tribal Solidarity Walk” to protest moves to grant scheduled tribe status to the Mitte community.
Meiteis constitute about 53 percent of the total population of Manipur but occupy only about 10 percent of the land area. Therefore, the demand arose for them to be included in the ST list because if this happened, the Meiteis could buy land in the hill regions, largely inhabited by tribes.
Here is a brief timeline of how events unfolded in Manipur:
April 27: It all started when an outdoor gymnasium that was to be opened in Manipur Open Gymnasium was set on fire.
April 28: Section 144 was imposed in the state and all internet services were suspended for five days to contain the violence. Later, protesters and security forces clashed, and police used tear gas shells to disperse the mob.
May 3: Thousands participated in the Tribal Solidarity March called by the Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) to protest the inclusion of Meiteis in ST class and violence erupted during the rally in Torbung district of Churachandpur.
May 4: New violent incidents were reported in Imphal with violent clashes between the Meiteis and the tribes. The Rapid Action Force along with the Army, CRPF, Assam Rifles and State Police were deployed to contain the violence.
The government also issued a “shoot to kill” order on the same day in cases of severe retaliation.
On the other hand, Federal Home Minister Amit Shah is closely monitoring the situation in Manipur and is in constant contact with senior officials of the state and central governments, TAP reported quoting sources.
Shah also takes regular input from the security and intelligence agencies on the status of Manipur.
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