Keywords: Meitei community, Manipur conflict, targeted attacks, ethnic conflict, Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee, Meira Paibis, Amit Shah, Kuki-Zo communities
Civil society organizations representing the Meitei community raised concerns on May 28 about alleged targeted attacks against their community amid the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. The Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee (DMCC), along with allied civil society groups from Manipur’s capital Imphal, including Meira Paibis (women activists), held a press conference at the Press Club of India in New Delhi to highlight these issues.
During the press conference, the organizations recalled the attacks on 13 Meitei villages that occurred on May 28 last year, just hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s scheduled visit to the state. They expressed their concerns about the continuing violence and the lack of adequate measures to protect their community.
The ethnic conflict in Manipur, which began on May 3 last year, involves the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki-Zo communities. The violence has claimed over 220 lives, left thousands injured, and displaced at least 50,000 people internally. The conflict has been marked by intense clashes and widespread devastation, affecting the lives and livelihoods of countless individuals in the region.
The DMCC and other Meitei civil society organizations are calling for greater attention to the targeted nature of the attacks against their community. They urge the government and relevant authorities to take swift action to ensure the safety and security of all affected communities in Manipur.
As the situation in Manipur remains volatile, the concerns raised by the Meitei civil society groups underscore the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and the protection of all communities involved.
