At least 55 people have been killed and an additional 23,000 displaced after ethnic clashes in the Indian state of Manipur, reports CNN.
A further 260 people have been hospitalized since violence between members of the Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups broke out in the state’s capital city of Imphal, according to CNN. The majority of the injuries were from gunshot wounds, local hospitals told CNN. (RELATED: Former Indian Lawmaker And His Brother Shot To Death On Live TV)
The violence was incited when the Christian Kukis took exception to plans to give another ethnic group, the majority Hindu Meitei people, the “Scheduled Tribe” status. The designation would effectively act as an affirmative action system, guaranteeing the tribe quotas in government jobs and college admissions, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). (RELATED: Powerful Mag. 6.7 Earthquake Rocks India, Killing 9)
After the Kukis protested the decision, Meiteis began to attack Kuki settlements in the hills. “The Meitei people first burnt down 26 or 27 houses,” a resident of Manipur, S. Malanga Vaiphei told AFP. “Then they came again and finished all 92 houses, ransacked the church, the school and whatever what’s left.”
The Meitei reportedly targeted Kuki settlements including churches and theologian seminaries.
A burning church in Manipur, India. pic.twitter.com/qLCdFo7hp8
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) May 7, 2023
The violence continued into Sunday despite the presence of the Indian army, per Al Jazeera. The Indian army “significantly enhanced” its surveillance in the remote northwest region, installed an internet blackout to curb misinformation, and issued a shoot-to-kill order in extreme cases, the outlet continued.
India’s Manipur region is isolated, connected only to the rest of the country by a small land bridge. Since 1950, over 50,000 have lost their lives in the region because of sectarian conflicts, Al Jazeera reported. The mostly Hindu Meiteis make up more than 50 percent of Manipur’s population, based on Indian census data, the outlet said. Manipur’s Christian tribes make up around 40% of the region’s population and enjoy “Scheduled Tribe” status.