Largely insulated from Manipur’s chaos, Assam’s Cachar tries to keep things that way

With Jiribam on the boil since November 7 and violence claiming 21 lives so far, authorities and locals of both Meitei and Hmar groups in Cachar are being extra vigilant. On Tuesday afternoon, representatives of both communities held their first peace meeting in Lakhipur with local administration and police officers since the latest cycle of violence broke out.

Those at the meeting, which included representatives of other communities residing in the area, said they discussed measures being taken by the police to maintain vigilance, instructions to avoid rumour mongering, shutting down markets before dark, and reporting suspicious activities to officials.

With Jiribam on the boil since November 7 and violence claiming 21 lives so far, authorities and locals of both Meitei and Hmar groups in Cachar are being extra vigilant. (PTI)

“Though people on both sides feel affected when we hear of what’s happening to members of our communities in Manipur, we also want to make sure there is no impact here. We’ve been reiterating that people should be careful not to react quickly to any kind of situation. For instance, many Manipuri youngsters go to the Hmar village of Hmarkhawlien to eat momos there. They should be careful not to get into arguments or fights because now, it will be seen as a fight between a Meitei and a Hmar,” said Reena Singh, a resident of the area and chairman of the Manipuri Development Council.

Police have also increased their presence at the borders. Assam IGP (Law and Order) P K Bhuyan told The Indian Express that personnel have been placed at locations from where “there is a possibility of miscreants infiltrating” into Cachar.

“To ensure that no one takes advantage of the law-and-order situation in Jiribam to break the peace here, we are alert and have deployed commandos and all our police battalions here. We don’t want any bad elements to enter and create unrest. We are working 24×7 to prevent this… We have informed local committees that if such people come here, they should report it to us so we can take lawful action. But we don’t have any information yet of such movement,” Cachar Superintendent of Police Numal Mahatta told reporters during a midnight patrol on Monday.

The police have also temporarily stopped the movement of boats on the riverine route between Lakhipur and Manipur over the Barak River and are carrying out patrols there too.

While Cachar has not seen any violence since the outbreak of clashes in its neighbourhood, it has still felt the ripples. When violence first broke out in Jiribam in June this year, around 1,000 displaced Hmar and Kuki people fled to Lakhipur to seek shelter.

Now, locals estimate that around 400 people, mostly women, children and the elderly, are in informal relief camps in villages such as Hmarkhawlien, Chikhur, Mirpur and Lalpani, while many more are living in rented houses or with relatives there.

Silchar, the district headquarters of Cachar, also saw tensions last week when the bodies of 10 Hmar men, who were gunned down by the CRPF in Jiribam, were brought to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Hmar groups alleged a delay in handing over the bodies of the men, who Manipur police have labelled militants, and protested outside the hospital.

Local community leaders are also trying to find ways to keep the peace. “People are always on social media. We know we can’t prevent that but we want to minimise the impact of false news. We are having awareness discussions with the public,” said a senior member of the Hmar community who was part of Tuesday’s meeting.

This was the third such peace meeting held in Lakhipur since last year.

“There is no issue at all between the locals here. We all know them, they know us. We have depended on each other for a long time; we go to the same markets. But there is a fear of unknown people entering our communities and influencing things,” Reena Singh said.