Families of 31 Missing Meiteis Seek Central and Manipur Governments' Intervention

New Delhi: It’s almost a year, and the clash between Kukis and Meiteis in Manipur continues unabated. In this backdrop, representatives from the Meiteis community on Thursday appealed to the Central and Manipur governments as well as the Kuki community to facilitate the return of 31 Meiteis, who went missing in May last year.

“To ameliorate the sufferings of the families tracing out the remains or whereabouts of the missing persons is a must. This allows them to perform the last rites, bringing closure to the missing incidents and enabling the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Furthermore, if the bodies are untraceable, there is an immediate requirement for the authorities concerned to declare the missing persons as untraceable and issue certificates accordingly,” said RK Bijyalakshmi, President of SOULS (Souls Offered Unitedly for a Lustrated Society). Several family members of the missing people on Thursday appealed to the government to take steps to bring back their family members.

SOULS, an NGO, in Manipur working to find the missing people. “We hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will hear our voice. We appeal to the Central government to help us in tracing the missing people,” said Bijyalakshmi. Clueless about the existence of their family members, several kin of the victims in the volatile state have already performed the last rites as per the Meiteis tradition by using Pangong tree leaves.

Atom Kavita, 47 years wife of Atom Samarendra, a journalist missing since May 6, 2023, along with Yumkhaibam Kiran Kumar, says “My husband was among the first persons to have gone missing. I have performed the last rites as per our tradition by using Pangong tree leaves in place of his body.”

“However, the bitter truth is there is no closure and I can’t find peace. Deep in the corner of my heart, I still believe my husband is alive somewhere and I still long for his return because he had helped the Kukis during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Kuki villagers have deep respect and love for him. I can't believe they would kill a person, who helped them,” said Kavita with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Of the total 31 missing people from the Meiteis community two were minors. However, the situation is almost the same in the Kuki community. Several people from the Kuki community have also gone missing in the last year. Meanwhile, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) Committee called for a shutdown on May 3 in protest against the ongoing violence.

“As part of this solemn occasion, we urge all members of the Kuki-Zo Community to hoist a Black Flag on every household as a mark of remembrance and solidarity. Additionally, all business establishments, institutions, and markets are requested to remain closed on this day as a sign of respect and homage to our fallen heroes,” said ITLF secretary NJ Haoneo.

The government's efforts to bring peace to the state, however, failed to show any remarkable achievements. While the Kukis have made clear their stance that the creation of a “separate administration” comprising the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar-dominated areas is the only way forward to establish peace, organisations representing the Meiteis have been opposing the separation of Manipur and they have also stepped up the demand for delisting the Kuki-Zo people as Scheduled Tribes (ST).