Manipur violence | Centre, state have failed to ensure safety: RSS & ABVP

The Manipur Prant of the RSS, in a statement to the press, said, “It is unfortunate that 19 months of violence in Manipur starting from May 3, 2023 has remained unresolved. Due to the ongoing violence, innocent people have immensely suffered. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Manipur strongly condemns the inhuman, brutal and merciless acts of killing women and children after taking them in captivity. The act is cowardly and against the principles of humanity and co-existence.”

This appeared to be a reference to the latest round of violence in Jiribam where armed men, who police said were Hmar militants, attacked a CRPF camp and a nearby relief camp last week and allegedly abducted six persons of a Meitei family – three women and three children including an infant. The bodies of five have since been recovered from a river, triggering violent protests in capital Imphal. A sixth body was found Monday and is believed to be that of the last missing member of the family.

The RSS said, “The Central and state government should ‘sincerely’ resolve the ongoing conflict at the earliest.”

The ABVP, Manipur, “vehemently condemned” the killings and said the violence in the state had now “plummeted to unprecedented depths”.

“This act defies even the most basic humanitarian principles, where women and children are traditionally spared. …Additionally, the destruction of properties belonging to democratically-elected leaders by enraged mobs is deeply disturbing,” the ABVP said in a statement.

“We believe timely intervention could have saved the six lives lost. The authorities concerned have failed in their duties, and both state and Central governments have failed to ensure the safety and normalcy in Manipur,” it said.

The organisation demanded “immediate action to restore peace and order, protection for innocent civilians, (and) accountability for the failed response”.

This is by far the strongest statement from RSS since the start of the ethnic conflict last year.

In a speech in Nagpur in June this year, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said, “Everywhere there is social disharmony. This is not good. For the past one year, Manipur has been awaiting peace. It was peaceful for the past one decade. It appeared that the gun culture of yore was gone. But the gun culture that took shape suddenly, or was created, Manipur is still burning in it. Who is going to pay attention to it? It is a duty to deal with it on priority.”