The Centre today announced ₹ 10 lakh compensation for families of those killed in ethnic clashes in Manipur as Home Minister Amit Shah toured parts of the strife-torn northeastern state.
Amit Shah visited the violence-hit Churachandpur district, where he was greeted by tribal women holding up national flags. “Only Centre can find a solution,” said posters amid unrest.
The Home Minister met with several prominent personalities in Imphal earlier today, including Chief Minister N Biren Singh and other senior officials.
“They (the prominent personalities) expressed their commitment to peace and assured that we would together contribute to paving the way to restore normalcy in Manipur,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
Detailed discussions were held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Imphal where several stakeholders vowed to restore normalcy in the state. The Centre also said telephone lines would be set up with the help of BSNL to “dispel rumours”.
The clashes broke out a month ago, over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land. The conflict has led to a series of smaller agitations, as tensions over land and political representation have boiled over.
The clashes followed hard on the heels of a tribal solidarity march that was organised to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
A Congress delegation led by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge met with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan to demand a high-level inquiry commission into the violence in Manipur.
The commission should be headed by a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court, the Congress leaders said in a memorandum to the President.
Earlier today, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said the challenges in Manipur would take some time. He also said the violence was a clash between two ethnicities and had nothing to do with counter-insurgency.
“The situation in Manipur has nothing to do with counter-insurgency and is primarily a clash between two ethnicities. It’s a law and order kind of situation and we are helping the state government,” General Chauhan said. “We’ve done an excellent job and saved a large number of lives. The challenges in Manipur have not disappeared and it will take some time but hopefully, they should settle down,” he added.