Scared to go back, want to study in a safe place: Manipur MBBS student

Reported by Donald Sairem

Thokchom Mangal, an MBBS 1st year student from the Churachandpur Medical College still gets goose bumps remembering the day when their hostel in Churachandpur was stormed by armed gunmen, their belongings, mobile phones snatched away and they left with no choice but to somehow save their lives and leave.

It is with the help of the Army and Assam Rifles that all the medical students of the Medical College were recused even as Churanchandpur was burning.

Today, after almost a month, Thokchom and several of the other students are still traumatised, and shaken up. But they are now worried about their future. However, they do not want to go back to Churachandpur to pursue their studies.

“Initially we thought we are safe in hostels, but mobs and armed miscreants stormed the hostel of the medical college and took away our mobile phones and other belongings. We want to study in a place where we feel safe, and our security will be prioritised,” Thokchom said.

Thokchom is not alone. Over a thousand students from Manipur and from other states who were studying in Manipur were rescued from the violence-hit state that has been on the boil since May 3.

Now Thokchom and several other students of Churachandpur Medical College have requested the Manipur government to make arrangements for them to complete their studies in a place where they would be safe.

Thokchom’s request comes at a time when Union Home Minister Amit Shah is in Manipur since May 29 and meeting stakeholders, talking to different communities, Civil Society leaders and student bodies, reviewing the security situation in an effort to bring peace and normalcy back to the state.

Also Read: Union HM Amit Shah’s visit to Kangpokpi “fruitful” says COTU

Meanwhile, the Zomi Students Federation (ZSF) general headquarter today issued a rebuttal in which it denied the statement made by some students of Lamka Medical College students that armed men stole their mobile phones. The ZSF termed this as “false, misleading, unfounded and unsubstantiated.”
“Such allegations are in line with the general policy of denigrating the reputation of the tribals which has become a daily trend. The policy of labelling tribal people as militants, terrorists, illegal immigrants, poppy cultivators and the like. Perhaps medical students made such claims out of pressure and ZSF prays that young innocent students will be spared from such efforts,” the ZSF statement said.
“It is worth mentioning that people of Lamka made every effort to ensure the safety of all students from outside the towns and even organised transportation and worked with the Senapati district Students Association to safely return the stranded students to their respective hometowns,” it noted.

It further said that ZSF is glad that the medical students reached their homes safely and said that they continue to pray for the lost souls.

Copy edited by Lipika Roy