Image: AFP
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken out for the first time about the ethnic violence that has been simmering for months in the state of Manipur in the north-east of the country – and has condemned it. The trigger is a video that has been widely shared on social networks and shows the abuse and rape of two women by an angry mob – and has triggered massive indignation.
The video shows two naked women being surrounded, groped and dragged into a field by a dozen young men. “The Manipur incident that has come to light is shameful for any civilized society. What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven”Modi said before a parliamentary session in his first public statement on the Manipur conflict.
The video was probably shot in May. However, it only became known now because after the recent outbreak of violence in Manipur, an internet and information blackout was imposed on the region. The acts of violence shown are symbolic of the civil war-like conditions in Manipur, which have claimed more than 130 lives since May. More than 35,000 people were displaced and their villages destroyed.
In the comparatively small state on the border with Myanmar, violence between different ethnic groups occurs again and again. The government has therefore sent thousands of security forces to the state with around three million inhabitants, cut internet connections and imposed travel restrictions. Tensions persist despite the added forces. A predominantly Hindu and politically dominant majority live in the region, the Meitei, as well as two predominantly Christian tribes, the Kukis and the Nagas.
Source: Nachrichten
