00:00 Outlook brings to you excerpts from its latest issue titled 'Adivasi' or 'The Earliest Inhabitants'.
00:07 This issue of Outlook looks at the politics of appropriation and resistance in the wake of recent
00:13 developments in the states like Jharkhand and the Union Territory of Ladakh. With the general
00:19 elections due this year, it remains to be seen how the Adivasis, who form more than 8% of the total
00:27 population, participate and how the identity politics shape up in the future.
00:33 Status War by Rakhi Bose from Outlook. Nine months of violence have left the once syncretic
00:40 Manipuri society divided between tribalism, ethnic revivalism and religious majoritarianism.
00:48 The roads leading to the mini secretariat in the Kuki-dominated Chura Chandapur district of Manipur
00:54 were chock-a-block with hundreds of protesters on February 15 when security forces opened fire.
01:01 A 15-year-old Kuki youth, resident of the nearby S. Nanveng village, was passing by the commotion
01:08 on his way home when a bullet hit him, killing him instantly. A desolate father,
01:15 Selal Haqib, has dubbed the death of his minor son as an institutional murder. Another civilian,
01:22 Letla Khol Gangte, 29, lost his life in the firing, which left 25 people injured.
01:29 The tragedy seems to have only galvanised the tribals further in their resolve to sever ties
01:35 with the dominant Meti community. Clashes between the Kuki and Meti communities broke out first
01:41 on May 3, 2023 and have since consumed over 180 lives. While violence has become endemic
01:48 across Manipur, the recent conflagration was triggered by the sudden suspension
01:54 of the Kuki Zo Head Constable, Siamla Paul, posted at Chura Chandapur, after images of him
02:01 taking selfie videos with armed men went viral on social media on February 14. In protest,
02:08 around 300-400 Kuki Zo protesters mobbed the offices of Chura Chandapur's Superintendent of
02:14 Police, Shivanan Surve, and Deputy Commissioner, Dharun Kumar. While security forces claim that
02:20 the firing was in retaliation to mob violence, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum has held the SP
02:28 and DC entirely responsible for the deaths. The group has warned that both the SP and DC
02:34 will bear the responsibility of any untoward incident that may fall on them, should they
02:40 choose to stay in Chura Chandapur. The ITLF spokesperson tells Outlook that suspending a
02:46 tribal official for a selfie while ignoring Meti officials openly fraternising with armed militants
02:53 reflects the state's anti-tribal agenda to vilify the Kuki Zo people. The irate activist adds that
03:00 the miscreants in the viral photograph, clicked by Siamla Paul, were volunteers of the village
03:06 defence force and not dangerous members of any suspension of operations groups, as is being
03:12 touted in the media. After nine months of violence, Manipur remains on the boil. The BJP,
03:19 which has been cultivating its tribal vote bank across the country, has maintained a stoic silence
03:25 on the Manipur issue, despite repeated raps from opposition leaders and international human rights
03:32 agencies for its failure to restore peace in the state. Between the Nagas, who have largely
03:37 remained neutral in this war, and the Kuki Zo tribes that inhabit the contiguous hills of
03:43 Manipur and Myanmar, the party seems to be relying on a third kind of tribal.
03:48 For this and more, read the latest issue of Outlook.
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