Terming the violence and atrocities on Kukis by Meiteis in Manipur as State-sponsored terrorism, progressive thinker and social activist Shivasundar has said that the scene in which over a thousand Meitei men parading three Kuki women naked was the death of humanity which, according to him, has been caused by the expansion of Hindutva terrorism to north-eastern India.
He was addressing a seminar on the tragic tale of Manipur organised by Karnataka State Dalit Sangharsh Samithi (Revolutionary) at S.M. Pundit Rangamandir in Kalaburagi on Sunday.
“Over a thousand Meitei men paraded three Kuki women naked on May 3. They made videos of the incident and let it go viral on social media. It shook not just India but the entire world. It happened in the presence of police personnel. It shows humanity’s death and cruelty’s birth in its ugliest form. The noteworthy thing is that none, except for a boy, is arrested in the case. It is State-sponsored Hindutva terrorism on Kuki tribals, a Christian community,” he said.
“Meiteis are basically a tribal community in Manipur. They are nature worshippers. They have nothing to do with the Hindu religion. They were gradually converted to the Hindu religion in the 18th century. They have been made to believe that they are natives of Manipur and the Kukis, who are Christians, were projected as invaders occupying the territories of Manipur. It is because of the communal Hindutva ideology that these two tribal communities, which were in peaceful coexistence for centuries, have now became foes fighting each other,” he said.
Comparing the Manipur violence with the Gujarat violence of 2002, Mr. Shivasundar said that the Gujarat carnage and the Manipur violence have one thing in common, which, according to him, is: the active support of the ruling government.
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