serious clashes between ethnic groups; 15 churches on fire

The meitei -which are the majority-, alluding to immigration from Myanmar and Bangladesh, demand access to benefits reserved for disadvantaged groups. The hill tribes responded with a protest rally which led to serious clashes. Unconfirmed rumors of victims; the local government imposed a curfew and blacked out the internet. The Bishop of Miao to : “The tribals, mostly Christians, fear that their lands will be taken from them.”

Imphal () – In the last few hours, strong riots have broken out in the northeastern state of Manipur: a demonstration in the Churachandpur district sparked tensions between the Meitei ethnic community (mostly Hindus and Muslims), who live in the plains, and the Naga and Kuki/zo tribal groups (mostly Christian), who have their villages in the hills. The reason for the conflict is the request of the meitei – who numerically represent more than 50% of the population – to be included in the categories of the Scheduled Tribes, the disadvantaged groups to which Indian law guarantees certain benefits in quotas of public office, political representation and land rights. On April 19, the Manipur High Court urged the local government to grant the petition, sparking discontent from other groups. This was the reason for the demonstration promoted by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur in the Torbung area, in the Churachandpur district, which was joined by thousands of representatives of non-Meitei groups.

The outbreak of some clashes caused the violence to spread throughout the Imphal valley: there is talk of casualties, but the authorities have not yet confirmed it. The churches are also among the places targeted: in that area about fifteen have been attacked in the last few hours. The Catholic Bishop of Miao, Mons. George Pallipparambil, declared to : “This is a fight between the tribals, who are 90% Christian, and the Meitei, who are 90% Hindu and Muslim. The Meitei want to be included in the category of Scheduled Tribes, which would allow them to get all the benefits, including the land. The tribals live in mountainous areas and there are many churches of different denominations spread across the region: that’s why the churches are involved in this situation and they are burning them down.”

In a tense atmosphere, five Jesuits traveling in a jeep together with a student were stopped by a crowd as they were returning to their home in Moirang. A group of people – visibly drunk – set the car on fire while the religious fled towards the fields. But others, realizing they had attacked a group of priests, apologized and took them to a nearby house. In the commotion, one of the Jesuits, Father Stephen Naulak, sustained injuries to his forehead and was taken to hospital.

To curb the violence, the local government imposed a curfew in most of the 16 districts until further notice and suspended mobile internet services for five days.

The Scheduled Tribes of Manipur Demand Committee (STDCM), which is leading the movement for the inclusion of the Meitei in the category of scheduled tribes, stated that the application was filed not only for the reservation of jobs, educational institutions and benefits prosecutors, but “above all to protect our land, our ancestral culture and identity”, which, they say, are “threatened by illegal immigration from Myanmar, Bangladesh and people from other states”. The other groups, however, accuse the Meitei of using this situation as a pretext to dispossess the hill tribes of their centuries-old land.