2023-07-22 11:07:59
by Monica Ricci Sargentini
The protesters are calling for the resignation of the premier of the state of Manipur who is part of Modi’s nationalist party. Jobs blocked in Parliament by the opposition which demands a public debate
Indians are furious after what happened in the Manipur region where two women were paraded naked after being raped. In recent days a video, shot in May, has gone viral in which the two women, belonging to the predominantly Christian Kuki tribal group, are seen walking without clothes along a road, mocked and harassed by a crowd of the majority Hindu Meitei community. The release of the images sparked outrage across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the incident a disgrace to any civilized nation. The guilty will not be spared. What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven, he added.
But the government’s condemnation has not appeased the wrath of the Indians who have been demonstrating their anger in front of Parliament since Friday, demanding the dismissal of State Prime Minister Biren Singh, who belongs to Modi’s Indian nationalist party. The opposition supports the initiative, which has asked for the postponement of all other parliamentary work and for the launch of a debate on the violence in the presence of the prime minister.
The wave of violence was triggered by the request of the Meitei Hindu ethnic group to have a sort of special status to buy land on the hills populated by the Kuki, who are Christians, and other tribal groups. The two warring factions formed armed militias and, despite the intervention of the army, the most isolated villages were looted. More than 60,000 people have left their homes and at least 130 have died. Manipur, populated by 3.7 million people, is tucked away in the mountains on India’s border with Myanmar.
The two women, from the Kuki community, were raped after the two male members of the family were killed. The violence happened on May 4 and four people were arrested on Friday. When cornered, the premier of the state, Biren Singh, guaranteed that rigorous action will be taken against all the perpetrators, also considering the possibility of capital punishment. But, in the meantime, the demonstrators stormed the house of one of the suspects, setting it on fire. We ask women to protest peacefully. We understand their anger said Hemant Pandey, a senior police official in the state capital Imphal.
Protests have spread across India. The accident has opened a Pandora’s box. We want to know why the police didn’t intervene to stop the despicable display of the victims who were paraded naked, said Radhika Burman, a student in the eastern city of Kolkata. In Bangalore, hundreds of protesters marched carrying banners that read: Women’s bodies not a battlefield. Similar protests took place in the eastern city of Bhubaneswar and on some university campuses across the country.
Compounding the government’s position is the fact that the chairman of the National Commission on the Status of Women Rekha Sharma knew as early as early June of the rapes and abuses of numerous women in Manipur but did not react until the shaming video became public domain. according to the activists of the NGO North American Manipur Tribal Association (NAMTA), who had sent an email to the president, informing her of at least six episodes of sexual violence and assaults on women of the Kuki ethnic group. In the letter, the association underlined the appalling aggravation of gender-based violence against women, exactly as in the case of war rapes and the persistent violations and threats to the physical and psychological safety of the victims. The activists, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Hindu newspaper that there could be even more Kuki victims of sexual violence.
Last week the European Parliament voted a resolution urging the Indian authorities to take action to stop the violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities, especially Christians. India’s foreign ministry condemned the resolution as an interference in its internal affairs.
July 22, 2023 (change July 22, 2023 | 11:07)
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