Manipur Naga MLAs speak up: ‘Crimes against our people unacceptable, tomorrow it may be Naga women…’

The Nagas comprise the other large tribal group in Manipur apart from the Kukis, who have been in conflict with the dominant Meiteis since May 3-4 now. On Thursday, 10 MLAs belonging to the Naga community, including nine either belonging to the BJP or its allies, issued a joint statement to collectively condemn the incident – their first since the outbreak of the violence.

A statement by Newmai, the Convener of the Naga Legislative Forum, said: “The Manipur Naga MLAs’ Forum in a joint statement has vehemently condemned the shocking incident of two innocent Kuki-Zo women who were stripped naked, paraded publicly and molested by the mob. Such a heinous and beastly crime against our people is unacceptable and due rigorous punishment must be given to all those involved.”

Of the 10 Naga MLAs, five are from the NPF, two from Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) – both of which are BJP allies – apart from two BJP MLAs and an Independent MLA. Their statement added that the incident “truly manifested the unspeakable crimes against our women, which continues to amplify the present crisis”.

“None of us had seen the video till Wednesday, and it was a shock. We had heard rumours of cases of rape and molestation of women, but this was the first proof we saw. It is not possible for any human being to carry out such a heinous crime – they were animals. No matter what the misunderstanding between the two communities are, even in times of war, you cannot make women the collateral damage,’’ Newmai told The Indian Express.

Newmai added that the magnitude of violence itself caught everyone unawares. “The Naga community may not be involved in the clashes, but we are all affected. Life has come to a standstill and normalcy no longer exists in the state. Soon after the violence erupted, we Naga MLAs formed peace committees and tried reaching out to both communities to get them to the table for discussions. But this has not really been successful so far. Even the leaders of the two communities are trying their best to restore peace, but they are unable to control the public. The situation has spiralled out of control,” said the minister.

NPP MLA Janhemlung Panmei said: “We decided to issue a joint statement because we all feel this way about what has happened. I have no words to express what I feel. The CM has said that there are hundreds of cases. We will have to wait and see what actually happened during the violence. Even this incident came out in the public after so long.”

NPF MLA Ram Muivah said: “The feeling in the Naga community is one of absolute shock and outrage. All Civil Society Organisations and various Naga groups are completely outraged. Today we know that it has happened to two Vaiphei women. Tomorrow, it may be Naga women. If we don’t speak up now, then who knows what’ll happen tomorrow?”

The Naga legislators have been restrained in their reaction in their bid to “maintain harmony” and to not “add fuel to fire’’, said a leader. However, there are growing rumblings of discontent on how the clashes have been handled by the state and Centre, with no solution in sight.

“All of this is happening because of one man — because one man is being protected. We can’t understand why the Centre is shielding the Chief Minister (N Biren Singh). There are over 30 MLAs in the BJP. Many of these leaders are highly respected in the communities and have a clean record. Why can’t the Central leadership just change the CM?’’ said a Naga leader.

Various Naga womens’ organisations have also issued statements, again for the first time since the violence began, including the Naga Women’s Union and the Tangkhul Shanao Long, the apex women’s body of the Tangkhul Naga tribe. The Tangkhul Shanao Long said: “TSL is short of words to express our distress; how an advanced community such as the Meiteis can stoop so low, beyond human decency… The incident only exposes the hegemony and oppressive nature of the Meitei society.’’

This is the first intervention by the Naga MLAs of Manipur since the first week of June, when the 10 of them had rushed to New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah days after his three-day visit to the violence-hit state, demanding that “Naga areas” of the state remain untouched and protected, irrespective of what the Centre proposes as a solution, in particular for the Kuki-Zomi tribes and their areas.