L. Thangkholet Khongsai sounded desperate over the phone.
“Please do something.... We want to be
shifted to Kangpokpi so that we can be with relatives. Help us shift,”
the Imphal-based pastor and teacher pleaded with this correspondent
after the customary introduction.
The 50-year-old, a Kuki, is among the 5,000
victims of violence sheltering at an Assam Rifles relief camp in
Mantripukhuri on the outskirts of Imphal in Manipur.
Khongsai’s family arrived at the camp on
Thursday after a mob burnt down his church, the theological college
where he taught, and the quarters he had called home for 20 years. The
pastor put up at the camp two days later, after helping other victims.
The conflict in Manipur between the mostly
Hindu Meitei majority, concentrated in the Imphal valley, and the mostly
Christian Kukis, based largely in the hills, has affected both the
well-to-do and the poor and taken a heavy toll on life and property.
“My wife and children shifted to the camp on
Thursday after a 100-strong mob entered the Kuki Christian Church
compound in Imphal City and wreaked havoc,” Khongsai said.
“We had to run for our lives. The security
forces couldn’t control (the situation). I shifted to the camp yesterday
(Saturday) after taking care of those left behind on the compound.”
Of the around 300 people who lived on the
church compound, more than 100 have moved to the relief camp, which is
also sheltering members of other tribes, Khongsai said.
He wants to move to Kangpokpi, about 30km from the relief camp in Imphal, where the family has relatives.
“Besides myself, my wife and our three
children, we also have 15 relatives in the camp. My sister-in-law is
pregnant. Please help us shift,” he said. “I only have the T-shirt and
the trousers I’m wearing. We couldn’t save anything.”
Khongsai said he had “secretly” visited the
church compound, 7km from the relief camp, once — inmates are not
allowed to venture out in view of the security risk. “Nothing is left;
whatever was left got looted,” he said.
Khongsai added: “It will be very difficult for us to return to Imphal. Pray for us, pray for peace.”
Khongsai said the camp inmates received two
meals a day. He added that over 10,000 people were staying in relief
camps in their “own city”.
The violence broke out on May 3 in connection
with the Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribe status, which is opposed
by the state’s tribal populace, including Kukis and Nagas who enjoy ST
status.
Meiteis too have been affected. Around 60km
from Imphal, four relief camps in Churachandpur town shelter 5,500
inmates, mostly Meiteis. Churachandpur is a hill district where the
Kukis are the majority.
Around 3,800 people, mostly Meteis, are
lodged in 27 small relief camps in Bishnupur district, about 30km from
Imphal. Bishnupur’s border with Churachandpur is said to be the
flashpoint of the current unrest.
The overall situation in Manipur has been improving but it will still take some time for normality to return, authorities say.
The army said that 23,000 people had been
“rescued” and moved to the force’s “operating bases/ military
garrisons”. Around 7,000 army and paramilitary force personnel have been
deployed to control the situation since Wednesday.
The army has enhanced aerial surveillance
through drones and redeployed helicopters in the Imphal valley, one of
the worst-affected areas along with Churachandpur, Bishnupur and
Tengnoupal districts.
Curfew was relaxed in Churachandpur from 7am
to noon on Sunday. Curfew will be relaxed in 11 of the state’s 16
districts on Monday, between two and five hours, except Pherzawl, which
has a 12-hour relaxation.
The state government on Sunday replaced
Rajesh Kumar as chief secretary with Vineet Jain, who had been on
deputation to the Centre.
Jain’s is the third major appointment made
since Thursday on the “advice” of the Centre to tone up the
administration and security.
Kuldip Singh, former CRPF chief, has been
appointed security adviser to the chief minister, and additional DGP
Ashutosh Sinha appointed the “overall operational commander”. Sinha is
working under the guidance of Singh.
