Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |

 

The shocking video circulating around the social media shows two Kuki women being paraded naked by Meiteis men in Manipur, the north-eastern state of India.

On July 19, the video went viral online triggered outrage throughout India showing a mob of Meitei parading  and groping two naked Kuki women on a rural road before taking them to a field, where one of them was reportedly raped on May 4.

The video shows several men, apparently Meiteis, walking alongside the two naked women with hundreds of other men some bystander’s others apparently part of the mob. One of the women is nearly in her 20s and the other in her 40s were allegedly “slapped and punched”, while the complaint submitted on May 18 says one of the women was gang-raped.

 

The women appear to be being groped and sexually assaulted while surrounded by a mob of men, many brandishing long canes or sticks as weapons reported by CNN.

Some of the reports said the video circulating on social media is fake.

Meanwhile, the Times of India cited a senior security source as saying that "no fake video" prompted the mob to attack the two women. It was rather a spontaneous attack, they said.

"The attackers were raiding about nine villages in the area since the night of 3rd May, the day when crises

raised in the state. And the very next day, this incident happened…it was a spontaneous act." 

Whether, Manipur Police described the incident on Twitter as “a case of abduction, gang rape and murder.” 
The video emerged after more than two months due to no internet services in the Manipur since May 3 – a move that has been widely criticized by rights activists in India.

Kuki groups have accused N. Biren Singh, the BJP chief minister of Manipur, of stoking violence, opposition

parties have also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the conflict.

The Kuki Zomi said in an official statement that the incident that happened on May 4 has shocked the

conscience of Indians.

"We strongly condemn these acts of cruelty and savagery perpetrated by the Meitei militias against our fellow helpless, defenseless and innocent Kuki-Zo people, that have equally shocked the conscience of our fellow

Indians," the statement read.

International concern about the Manipur violence has been muted so far, though on July 13 the European Parliament passed a resolution asking the Indian government “to take all necessary measures and make the

utmost effort to promptly halt the ongoing ethnic and religious violence”.

The resolution demanded the Indian government to allow the internet access in Manipur state and grant

unhindered access to journalists and international observers.

“Such interference in India’s internal affairs is unacceptable, and reflects a colonial mindset”, the Indian government snapped in response.

 

Indian prime minister Narender Modi broke down his silence and addressed the situation of Manipur by saying, “My heart is filled with grief and anger. The incident in Manipur is shameful for any civil society.” 

“What happened with the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” Modi continued, adding the “law will take its course with all its might.”

The violence actually broke out in Churachandpur state on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organized in the 10 hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, leading to the deaths of at least 54 people. It followed a Kuki-led tribal solidarity march in ten of the state’s sixteen districts. In response the Meiteis organized counter-protests and blockades that caused in spreading clashes across Manipur.

 

As of 29 July, 181 people have been killed, more than 300 wounded and approximately 54,488 displaced, thousands have been injured and more than 12,000 have fled to the neighboring Mizoram because of the ethnic-communal violence between the Meiteis and Kukis.

Hundreds of houses, places of worship (the churches and temples), and vehicles have been vandalized, and thousands of weapons stolen from government armories. Arson and other attacks continue unabated.

The situation was out of control for the government despite taking drastic measures by shutting down the internet services, imposed a curfew and authorized all district magistrates to issue “shoot-on-sight orders” in “extreme cases”.

About 50,000 security personnels were dispatched by the federal government to take the security measures.

 
The local police reported the arrest of 32-year-old Meitei man, identified as Khuirem Herodas, as one of the suspects behind the assault on the two women.

“A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment,” the state’s chief minister N Biren Singh, who is a Meitei, tweeted after the arrest.

 

Manipur is the hilly North-eastern state of India with 3.3 million population divided into two ethnic zones, more than half are Meiteis, while around 43% are Kukis and Nagas, the predominant minority tribes at the east of Bangladesh and borders with Myanmar.

Meitei, Kuki and Naga militias always have conflicts with one another from the decades by demanding homelands, religious differences and even the clashes with India's security forces. 

 

The latest incident, however, is almost entirely between the Meitei and the Kuki.

 

"This time, the conflict is strictly rooted in ethnicity, not religion," says Dhiren A Sadokpam, editor of The Frontier Manipur.