How the violence began https://scroll.in/article/1050361/armed-gangs-and-a-partisan-state-how-manipur-slipped-into-civil-war
By all accounts, the immediate trigger for the violence that has convulsed Manipur for weeks now was an act of arson in the hill district of Churachandpur on May 3: a purported attempt to burn the Anglo-Kuki war centenary gate that commemorates the Kuki rebellion against British colonists in 1917-’19.
The damage to the structure was minimal but given its symbolic value, thousands of Kukis descended at the spot. The mobilisation was instant for good reason. Thousands of tribal people had already congregated at a place only a few kilometres away for a separate protest against an order of the Manipur High Court directing the state government to consider granting the Meitei community Scheduled Tribe status. Tribal groups feared it would further entrench the dominance of Meiteis in the state.
Things escalated soon. In no time, mobs took over large parts of the state: Kukis in the hill districts dominated by the community, and Meiteis in the Imphal valley. Both sides insist that they acted only in retaliation and did not initiate violence.
06/06/2023