Fear of backlash grips Meiteis in Mizoram as militants urge group to leave state

The statement, issued on Friday, cited the 'anger among Mizo youths' at the 'atrocities' committed in neighbouring Manipur on the Kuki-Zo people, who have the same Zo ancestry as the Mizos

The road, on which two women were paraded naked by a mob, blocked by the villagers, in a village of Thoubal district on Saturday: PTI

Umanand Jaiswal, TT, Guwahati, 23.07.23  :  Fear has gripped Meiteis living in Mizoram following a statement by an association of former Mizo National Front militants that urged them to leave the state for their “own safety”.

The statement, issued on Friday, cited the “anger among Mizo youths” at the “atrocities” committed in neighbouring Manipur on the Kuki-Zo people, who have the same Zo ancestry as the Mizos.

By Friday evening, the Mizoram government had beefed up security in Aizawl, anticipating a threat to the Meiteis living in the state capital because of the “public outrage over the viral video of two tribal Kuki-Zo” women “being brutally assaulted in Manipur”.

The video, which was shot on May 4 but was not widely circulated before July 19, shows two Kuki-Zo women being paraded naked and molested in public by a purportedly Meitei mob in Manipur.

On Saturday, the Mizoram home department held a meeting with the Peace Accord MNF Returnees Association (Pamra), the association of former MNF militants, to try and defuse the situation.

Following the meeting, the Mizoram home commissioner met representatives of the All Mizoram Manipuri Association (Amma), assured them of security, and asked them not to be misguided by rumours, the state home department said.

The home commissioner also “persuaded” Amma representatives to inform their fellow Meiteis in Mizoram — both government employees and students — “not to leave the state due to the unfortunate misinterpretation” of the Pamra media statement.

At the meeting with the state home department, Pamra representatives clarified that their release had been issued as an “advisory requesting Meiteis living in Mizoram to exercise caution in the light of public sentiments regarding the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur and was not a diktat or a quit notice to Meiteis”.

However, the MNF-led Mizoram government’s assurance seems not to have assuaged the fears of the Meiteis of Mizoram yet.

Amma president W. Gopeshore and vice-president Ranbir Arambam told The Telegraph that there was tension and fear among the about 3,500 Meiteis, including students, who live in Mizoram.

Arambam said he planned to leave Mizoram with his family on a chartered flight “arranged” by the Manipur government to evacuate Meiteis from Mizoram.

However, an official in the Manipur chief minister’s office told this newspaper on Saturday evening that no chartered flight had been arranged to evacuate Meiteis from Aizawl.

Gopeshore, currently in Imphal, said his wife, son and daughter had been scheduled to fly to Aizawl on Sunday but would “not” be going because of safety issues.

Gopeshore and Arambam are central government employees based in Aizawl.

Arambam said that social media posts advising the Meiteis of Mizoram to stay indoors for their own safety had deepened the fears.

“These are fuelling fears. It is akin to being under house arrest. That is why we have decided to leave for the time being,” he said, when asked about the Mizoram government’s assurances about the community’s safety.

Arambam, however, thanked the state government and local organisations for ensuring the community’s safety since the clashes between Meiteis and Kukis began in Manipur on May 3.

The unrest has left at least 152 people dead and 60,000 displaced, of whom some 12,584 Chin-Kuki-Zo had sought refuge in Mizoram till Friday.

A member of the Meitei community in Mizoram said a survey of Meitei students announced by a students’ association in Mizoram, and a joint rally called on July 25 by civil society organisations against the Manipur violence, besides the Pamra statement, had caused the panic.

“We have faith in the Mizoram government and the civil society organisations, but there is no guarantee how a crowd will behave. And how long can we stay indoors?” he said.

Protests continued on Saturday in Manipur’s Kuki-majority district of Churachandpur against the May 4 atrocity on two Kuki-Zo women, as shown in the video. The protesters sought the arrest of all those involved.

A rally held by the women’s wing of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum drew a large turnout in Churachandpur. A protest rally was also held in Naga-majority Senapati district.

Protests against the May 4 incident had also been held in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley on Friday.

Five men have been arrested in the case and a juvenile detained, police said. The police are looking for about 30 others.