IMPHAL: The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights (KOHUR) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to intervene to halt the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur immediately.
Accusing the Meitei community of launching a “majoritarian mayhem” to seize tribal lands, the Kuki group described the violence as state-sponsored ethnic cleansing.
With over 200 deaths since May 2023, it stressed the need for constitutional intervention to protect the minority Kuki-Zo community from annihilation.
Manipur has been plagued by ethnic violence since May 2023, rooted in long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
The Meiteis, primarily Hindu and residing in the Imphal Valley, seek Scheduled Tribe status, which the Kuki-Zo groups, predominantly Christian and living in the hill districts, oppose, fearing the erosion of their rights.
Clashes erupted after a court order favouring the Meitei demand, leading to violent confrontations, displacement of thousands, and the deaths of over 200 people. The conflict also involves issues of land, identity, and state control.
Agencies