Manipur Violence: Jiribam the Latest Flashpoint

Jiribam is a district with an estimated population of 50,000 and shares border with southern Assam district of Cachar.

Jiribam has become the latest flashpoint in Manipur’s 18-month long ethnic conflict. Yesterday’s killing of 10 armed miscreants by the security forces is the latest incident that has brought Jiribam to the limelight, although for the wrong reasons.

Located at the western part of Manipur, Jiribam is a district with an estimated population of 50,000 and shares border with southern Assam district of Cachar.

The Meiteis are the largest community in Jiribam, while the Kuki-Zo-Hmar also have sizeable presence. The district, which has a sprinkling of Bengali Hindus, Muslims and Pangals among others, remained unaffected by the ethnic violence in the state for over a year. But things changed when a body was recovered in the district on the evening of June 6. The mutilated body of a farmer was found in the fields triggering the first communal unrest in Jiribam leading to widespread violence and arson between the Meiteis and Hmar-Kuki-Zomi communities. Jiribam too came under the vortex of the ethnic unrest.

Subsequently, hundreds of people had to be moved to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. National Highway 37, which served as an alternate lifeline to the Imphal valley for months, also became a flashpoint in the Jiribam conflict with vehicles, especially trucks refusing to ply along the route for fear of being ambushed.

In fact, a police convoy on way to Jiribam ahead of a proposed visit by CM N Biren Singh was also ambushed by armed miscreants. Kuki women groups had also imposed blockade along NH-37. The sequence of events had turned Jiribam into the next battleground of Manipur. Even a peace meet and an agreement reached at back in August failed to restore normalcy in Jiribam.

Yesterday’s incident, which comes at a time when the Centre is taking proactive steps to restore complete normalcy in Manipur, is a massive setback to peace initiatives in the area.

So what was the latest trigger? Well, the situation in the district escalated since last week when a fresh round of violence broke out. A woman was killed in a brutal attack last Thursday on Hmar-dominated Zairawn village. As per reports, over a dozen houses were also set on fire in Zairawn.

While protests rocked the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur and Kangpokpi post the killing, the situation remained extremely volatile in Jiribam. Observers feel that yesterday’s attack by armed miscreants was part of the retaliatory action following the Zairawn incident.

As per multiple media reports, the armed miscreants started carrying out attacks at multiple locations including Meitei settlements yesterday. As per Manipur police tweet, at around 3 pm, armed miscreants attacked a CRPF post located at Jakuradhor and Borobekra Police Station located nearby leading to injuries to a CRPF constable. The security forces retaliated strongly and the situation was brought under control after 40–45 minutes of heavy exchange of fire. The area was searched and 10 bodies of armed miscreants were recovered. This marked the highest number of casualties in a single day this year in the ongoing conflict in the state.

Yesterday’s incident, which comes at a time when the Centre is taking proactive steps to restore complete normalcy in Manipur, is a major setback to peace initiatives in the area.

Also read: Miscreants Use Locally-Made Unguided Missiles, Foreign-Made Bombs In Fresh Attack, Civilian Death Toll Rises to 4 in Jiribam

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