Names erased & changed, houses torched: In Manipur, divide runs deep on both sides

Similarly, at New Checkon in Imphal East, where Kuki properties were targeted over the past two days, the name of the colony has been blackened on signboards.

These instances capture the emotional and demographic separation of the two communities, following 45 days of ethnic violence in Manipur, with over 120 people killed and over 4,000 houses – belonging to both the communities – burned down. While Meiteis have left the Kuki-dominated hill districts, the Kukis have left the Meitei-dominated Valley.

At Paite Veng, the local residents’ club members say the name of the colony was always Kwakeithal Ningthemkol, and is even recorded as such in revenue records.

“It so happened that over the past three decades many influential Kuki politicians, IPS and IAS officers, and even a leader of an insurgent group in Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the government started living here. Since they all belonged to the Paite community, this colony began to be known locally as Paite Veng… But this is not the historical name of the place. That is why the original name has now been restored,” said a member.

“Earlier, we could not raise our voice because influential people from the community lived here. Even our Aadhaar card has Kwakeithal Ningthemkol written on it,” said another member.

Asked if the Kuki residents could return to the colony, a member said, “It is up to them. But it won’t happen anytime soon.”

At Churachandpur, the key town of the Kukis, vacant patches of land can be seen between the line of Kuki homes. These plots of land once housed multi-storey Meitei homes.

“In Imphal, even today, Meiteis continue to target Kuki properties. Elsewhere, Meitei properties are being targeted. The message is clear from both sides: ‘You are not welcome here anymore’,” said an official.

Khuraijam Athouba, spokesperson for Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, said there is no enmity between innocent civilian communities. “It is only between narco-terrorists and the Meitei people. If we wipe out all terrorist groups, peaceful coexistence can happen,” he told The Indian Express.

But in Churachandpur, Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), disagreed. “I don’t think it is possible. All the tribal houses in Imphal have been burned down. People have been killed. This is ethnic cleansing. There is a fear psychosis. So total separation is the only solution.”

Asked what would happen to the properties left behind by Kukis in Imphal, and Meiteis in Churachandpur, he said: “Separation is more important than holding properties. No decision has been taken (on Meitei properties left behind in Churachandpur), but we have to also consider that there are 35,000 displaced Kukis in relief camps. This is unsustainable. We are getting little support from the state government. These people have to be settled somewhere.”

About 10 km from Churachandpur, just ahead of Torbung, from where the May 3 violence started, a road cuts off the highway into a rural belt with Kangwai as the first village. On either side of the road there is a trail of destruction, with both Kuki and Meitei houses burned to the ground. The fringes of the village have witnessed pitched gunbattles over the past two days. A PMGSY board at the entrance, however, declares Kangwai as a ‘model village’.