Remembering the sacrifices of those who lost their lives during the long drawn crisis in Manipur, four civil bodies of Thongju and Kyamgei performed the Langbal Heisoi ritual for the departed souls at Leishang Hiden Kyamgei Pal Ahanbi, Imphal on Sunday.
The civil bodies are Committee of Forward Clubs’ (CFC), Thongju, Apunba Meira Paibi Lup (AMPL), Thongju, Peace and Integrity Committee, Kyamgei (PICK) and the All Kyamgei Nupi Chaokhat Thourang Lup.
Speaking on the occasion, PICK convenor Ch Meghachandra stated that the ritual had been organised to pay tribute to the brave souls.
“Now, the Kuki terrorists are pushing the limits by abducting youths who have no connection to the crisis. They abducted three Meitei youths on their way to 33 AR battalion for their SSC GD exam. One narrowly escaped while the other two are still held captive for vested interests,” he said.
He demanded both the Central and state government to rescue the two youths swiftly. He further lambasted the Kuki groups for misleading the people by naming their civil bodies in a misleading style.
“They name their civil groups in such a manner that it distorts the image of indigenous communities in Manipur. ITLF does include other tribes outside the Kuki umbrella but the name misleads people,” he said.
Meanwhile, CFC vice president K Rohindro expressed discontentment over authorities’ failure to rein in the crisis and questioned if the authorities were intentionally drawing out the conflict.
“We fear that the Indian government is intentionally staying silent on the matter to achieve a vested objective as such the people are being pushed to fend for themselves,” he said.
