Kuki groups demand justice for woman who died 2 years after being gang-raped in Manipur violence
Churachandpur (PTI): Several organisations demanded justice for a Kuki woman from Manipur, who died recently from illness allegedly linked to the trauma she suffered after being gang-raped during the early phase of the ethnic violence in the state in 2023.
The Kuki organisations based in Manipur’s Churachandpur and Delhi claimed that she was kidnapped in Imphal and gang-raped in May 2023. She, however, escaped from the kidnappers, but never fully recovered from the shock and injuries and died on January 10 while undergoing treatment in Guwahati.
The groups also demanded a separate administration for the Kukis, claiming that it was not possible for them to live together with the Meitei community.
At least 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and hills-based Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur since May 2023. The state has been under President’s Rule since February last year.
In a statement, the Kuki group Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said, “Her death is yet another painful testimony to the ruthless manner in which the Kuki-Zo people have been targeted.”
The Kuki-Zo people "now have no other option but to demand a separate administration for our safety, dignity, and survival", said the ITLF.
The Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), Delhi & NCR, alleged that despite the seriousness of the crime and repeated appeals by civil society organisations, no meaningful action was taken against the perpetrators.
“We categorically assert that her death must be officially recognised as resulting from the violence committed against her in 2023. Any attempt to treat it otherwise would amount to a denial of justice and an erasure of responsibility,” the KSO Delhi & NCR said.
The organisation called upon the Centre to expedite the process of creating a separate administration for the tribals, which is “both necessary and unavoidable”.
A woman’s group of the Kuki tribe said that the victim would be remembered not only for the injustice she suffered but also for her resilience and courage in the face of unimaginable brutality.
“For nearly three years, she carried pain that no human being should ever have to bear,” the Kuki-Zo Women's Forum, Delhi & NCR, said in a statement.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
