Manipur Chief Minister Yomnam Khemchand Singh with children while distributing financial assistance to internally displaced persons at Langol Alternative Housing Complex, Imphal West, on Thursday.
IMPHAL/CHURACHANDPUR: A torn country that tried to talk to itself. For the first time since ethnic violence tore through Manipur in May 2023, Prime Minister Yomnam Khemchand Singh on Thursday addressed displaced Meitei and Koki Zo families together — on a common platform, albeit virtually — as he combined cash relief with an appeal to rebuild trust.The outreach operation, held at a relief camp in Langol in Imphal West district, succeeded in linking displaced Meitei families in the valley with inmates of Kuki Zo camps in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi via video link. Direct benefit transfers were approved during the meeting.Each displaced person received INR 2,420 for essentials. Officials said that the families whose houses were burned were getting one million rupees in instalments.More than 260 people have been killed and more than 60,000 displaced since clashes broke out between the Meite and Kuki communities in 2023.
Since then, movement has been severely restricted – valley dwellers rarely enter the Kuki-majority hills, and Kukis rarely travel to Imphal.Singh said resettlement has begun in peripheral areas, but rebuilding homes in sensitive areas remains difficult. “Resettlement of internally displaced people to their places of origin is a priority, although challenges remain. While tensions have subsided, mistrust remains,” he added, urging social groups and families to help bridge the gap.
It was a modest step – checks and promises – but the first time the state had tried to bring two wounded communities into the same conversation. Voices from the camps streaked across the screen. A young Kuki woman from Kangbukpi has pleaded for jobs and higher education. A Meite woman collapses and asks to go home after spending three years in the camp. Another prisoner from Kuki Zu Prison pointed out the difficulties he faces in reaching hospitals.The Prime Minister promised security for Kuki-zo patients visiting Imphal and special plans for about 6,000 displaced students whose schools have been disrupted. “I am not a god, but I will not let your tears be in vain,” Singh said.
