PM's silence on Manipur violence shows Kuki lives don’t matter, says academic

Expressing her concern over the impact the ongoing violence is having on the education sector, Dr Mary Grace Zou said the unrest was 'really worrying' her as a mother

Remains of a burnt house at violence-hit Kangpokpi in Manipur on Friday.: PTI

Umanand Jaiswal, TT, Guwahati, 17.06.23: The ongoing turmoil in Manipur could see the state “lose a generation” of youths, who were “holding guns instead of books”, and the overall situation was “very grim”, according to Kuki Women’s Forum Delhi & NCR convener Dr Mary Grace Zou.

The New Delhi-based academic shared the views in an interview with journalist Karan Thapar for the news portal The Wire.

Expressing her concern over the impact the ongoing violence is having on the education sector, Mary, who hails from Manipur’s Churachandpur district, said the unrest was “really worrying” her as a mother.

She said: “We are going to lose one generation (of youths) because there is no school, Internet has been shut, there are no online classes. The saddest part is that despite the chief minister’s concern... this war... has led to the youths holding guns instead of books...”

Mary told The Telegraph on Thursday: “What is worrying me as a mother, for the youths of Manipur, is that we have one set of youths who are being trained/ armed to attack and another set of youths who are being trained/ armed to defend. Will these boys go back to study in their schools and colleges? They will have a different mindset because of the unrest.

She added: “Not all can go out of the state to pursue their education. Youths who are attacking or defending are mostly from families who can’t afford their children’s education outside the state. In this unrest, mostly the common people and poor people will suffer. This is why I said that we are going to lose a generation. We pray the unrest ends at the earliest.”

The Kuki Women Forum Delhi & NCR was formed just after violence broke out on May 3, by a group of mothers to be the “voice of the voiceless”.

“The people I know are having sleepless nights and at the same time they are not taking proper food. I can say that the people are barely surviving and not living because there is no more life —without Internet and intermittent supply of electricity, and no education. Daily wagers are not able to get work. And most importantly, prices of essentials have sky-rocketed. The overall situation in Manipur is very grim,” Mary said.

Asked whether she had thought of facilitating negotiations and whether chief minister N. Biren Singh should be removed, Mary said: “That is what the Kukis have been demanding. I really feel that Biren is not a responsible chief minister.... I am sorry to say that in this regard the Centre is also to some extent responsible for having total faith and trust in Biren Singh’s chief ministership or leadership that has led to this present mayhem.”

Mary added: “Biren has not only failed us, he has also failed the central government.”

On how the Centre, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, has handled the Manipur situation, she said: “We always expected something which is more effective than this.”

Referring to Shah’s visit to Manipur 25 days after violence broke out and Prime Minister Modi not uttering a word on the crisis in public, Mary said: “I am very much disappointed. It is very disheartening as a citizen of India thatKuki lives don’t matter. It (the Prime Minister’s silence) seems like that (Kuki lives don’t matter). The Centre and the state have to act together.... Why is the Centre still believing Biren? What is the role of the double-engine government?”

The BJP is in power both at the Centre and in Manipur.

On whether they were beginning to lose faith in Modi and Shah, Mary said: “We have no choice but to continue to hope.”