00:00 When we see a problem in Gujarat, anywhere,
00:05 no violence lasted that long.
00:07 So we've been asking this question, why, why, why?
00:11 Our bodies were lynched.
00:12 Our bodies were butchered.
00:14 Our women were paraded naked.
00:16 [INAUDIBLE]
00:17 And we seek justice for the innocent victims.
00:21 I have to be separated from my family.
00:25 And I miss them so much as I talk about them now.
00:27 That you did not parade an ordinary cookie-sough woman,
00:31 but you paraded the pride of India.
00:33 By doing so, you paraded your own mother, your own sister,
00:37 your own daughter as naked on the streets of Manipur, which
00:40 is very, very wrong, and I condemn it.
00:42 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:48 Today, I'm at a very popular place
00:50 of protest in Bengaluru, which is a freedom park.
00:53 A lot of people have gathered here
00:54 in protest against the Manipur violence, which
00:56 has been going on for months.
00:57 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:04 But when we thought of packing our bags,
01:05 we didn't think, oh, you have to pack your bags
01:07 and come to Bangalore and settle here again.
01:08 No.
01:09 Why are we here?
01:10 Freedom for us!
01:12 Why are we here?
01:13 Freedom for us!
01:15 Why are we here?
01:17 Freedom for us!
01:19 Why are we here?
01:21 The protest was called by members of the cookie-soumy
01:24 communities in Bengaluru, who gathered in solidarity
01:27 with the victims of violence, mostly women of their tribes
01:30 back in their home state.
01:31 We want--
01:32 --freedom for us!
01:35 We want--
01:36 --freedom for us!
01:37 Lamlening Haukip was born and raised
01:40 in Imphal, the capital city of Manipur.
01:42 But she came to Bengaluru a month ago in search of a job
01:45 to support her family stranded in Manipur.
01:47 She belongs to the cookie-soumy community.
01:50 The night of 3rd May, when clashes began in Manipur,
01:53 was like any other night until she and her family
01:55 found themselves running for their lives.
01:57 Lamlening was lucky enough to escape,
01:59 but she lives every day in fear for her family's safety.
02:02 We were so terrified.
02:03 There's a military camp nearby our place.
02:06 So we had to run for our lives to save our lives there.
02:09 So we go there and took shelter and spent like a week there.
02:13 We only had to eat one meal a day.
02:16 I had high hopes for myself.
02:18 I want to serve the nation somehow.
02:21 I strive so hard, but situations compel me to flee here
02:24 and start working, which I never dreamed of.
02:27 I have to be separated from my family.
02:31 And I miss them so much as I talk about them now.
02:34 Lamlening had come as a spokesperson
02:36 for her community, the cookie-soumy community.
02:39 The protest was organized under a joint banner, Bangalore
02:42 UNAU Forum.
02:44 This includes the Cookie Students Organization,
02:46 HMAR Students Association, Soumy Youth Association,
02:50 Bangalore Mizo Association, and Cookie NP Karnataka.
02:54 And this is the country where we have free voice.
02:59 Just like Lamlening, there were several others
03:01 present at the protest who had similar experiences.
03:04 Every women, children who've been there on the same day,
03:08 they have fled the night because the people who
03:11 came to attack them in thousands.
03:13 So from afar, they could hear the noise.
03:17 So they fled.
03:18 But we left my cousin brother, who
03:21 is the only man in that village, at that moment.
03:24 But the next day morning, he was caught by these people.
03:30 And he was burned alive.
03:35 Anywhere we know, it's not new thing.
03:37 But when we see in any way a problem in Gujarat,
03:41 anywhere, no violence lasted that long.
03:45 So we've been asking this question, why, why, why,
03:49 why state government is not?
03:50 And all does.
03:52 But nothing has been done.
03:54 No changes has been done.
03:56 We want separate administration.
03:59 We want separate administration.
04:02 The protesters who had gathered today
04:04 demanded a separate administration
04:05 for the tribes in Manipur and want the law and order
04:08 to be in place as soon as possible.
04:11 I think this passed.
04:12 20 days passed.
04:13 A month went.
04:15 And then three months already today.
04:18 And atrocities continued.
04:20 Every morning, every evening, we see the Twitter.
04:23 We see the YouTube.
04:25 We see the news that the fighting, I mean,
04:27 the attack has not stopped.
04:29 And also people who have been, you know, brutalized, gang
04:33 grabbed, or, you know, houses burned,
04:36 there has been no relief.
04:38 There has been no justice given.
04:40 So we can't be sitting quiet anywhere in the world.
04:43 We demand that our demand, the only demand,
04:48 or the only solution is separate administration
04:52 from Manipur government.
04:54 That is union territory with legislature.
04:57 That is our main focus of today's solidarity,
05:00 sit-in protest rally that we have today.
05:04 A video showing two women from one of the communities
05:12 in the state went viral on July 19.
05:15 This resulted in a massive uproar across the country
05:17 on crimes allegedly being committed
05:19 in the northeastern state since May 3rd this year.
05:22 And ever since I saw this news about Manipur,
05:26 and when they're calling the Zoho-Kuki community
05:28 as illegal immigrant and poop-poppy cultivators,
05:31 my heart breaks down.
05:33 Because the rest of India do not know
05:35 they are integral part of our country.
05:38 Manipur has been dragged by violence
05:39 after clashes broke out between Kuki and Mete communities
05:42 earlier this year.
05:43 The Kuki's scheduled tribe have been opposing the demand
05:46 for an SD tag for the Mete's.
05:48 The violence that followed continues till today.
05:50 It has claimed over 100 lives and displaced thousands,
05:53 with camera person Prashant, Rishika Kashyap
05:55 for Deccan Herald.
05:58 (upbeat music)
06:01 (music fades)
06:03 [MUSIC]
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