By Karan Thapar / The Wire
Manipur’s small Muslim community, known as Meitei Pangal, who are 8.4% of the population, are “very insecure” as a result of being caught in the middle of the violence.
“We are completely shattered in terms of the economy and education…life for Meitei Pangal is completely shattered,” said the spokesperson of the United Meitei-Pangal Committee of Manipur, Mohammad Raees Ahmed Tampak.
In a 25-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Tampak said the Meitei Pangal community are very concerned by the fact that there are now signs they are distrusted by both sides. The Indian Express reported on August 7 that when three Meitei were killed in Kwakta, which is preponderantly Pangal, the Meitei suspected that the Pangal community had helped the Kuki do this. On the other hand, when a village called Leithen, close to Kwakta, was emptied by the Pangals and became a base for armed Meitei civilians, the Kuki became suspicious of the Meitei Pangal community.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here