Violation of Kuki-Zo women: President Murmu urged to immediately visit Manipur

Counterview Desk
In an open appeal endorsed by over 3,100 concerned citizens, the top civil rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has asked President Draupadi Murmu to immediately intervene for ensuring restoration of peace and justice in strife-torn Manipur and “support to violated Kuki-Zo women.”
The appeal, which had sought signature from other civil rights organisations and individuals, said, “It is absolutely unacceptable and unjustifiable that women’s bodies are used as sites of brutal violence by the State and supremacist, patriarchal forces.”

Text:

We the undersigned organizations and activists associated with the National Alliance of People’s Movements, numerous other progressive organizations and citizens from across India, write to you with a fervent and urgent appeal, in the light of the humanitarian crisis in Manipur.
For almost three months, the North-Eastern state of Manipur has been in a state of unprecedented turmoil and violence, owing to ethnic clashes and miserable failure of the Central and State Governments, in restoring normalcy. What began as popular resistance to the questionable proposal to include non-STs (Meiteis) in the Scheduled Tribes list, soon snowballed into a state-wide crisis of unimaginable proportions, with the Meitei and Kuki communities at the centre of the conflict. The trail of violence has left at least 150 people dead, entire villages razed down and tens of thousands of people displaced, amidst untold suffering for both the communities.
However, what seems to have finally ‘shook the nation’ and compelled the powers-that-be, especially the Prime Minister to ‘speak up’, is the recent viral video of three Kuki-Zo tribal women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted in full public glare, way back on 4th May in Kangpokpi district. In the same instance, the two male members of the family were killed by the mob. While an FIR was filed 2 months back, the first and (only) arrest happened on 20th July, after national outrage, despite the fact that a large mob of identifiable men can be seen in the video.
As per the Chief Minister, Mr. Biren Singh’s own chilling statement, this is just one instance which has come to light, out of more than hundred other such cases! Clearly, this is the ‘tip of the scary iceberg’ and a comprehensive inquiry is needed to ensure due legal process and accountability of violators and authorities in all such instances. Instead of clamping down on internet services, the Govt. must clamp down on the perpetrators of crimes.
Madam, it is absolutely unacceptable and unjustifiable that women’s bodies are used as sites of brutal violence by the State and supremacist, patriarchal forces. While the majoritarian mobs and police are directly culpable, the inaction and complicity of those higher-up in the echelons of power needs questioning too. Even institutions like the National Commission for Women (NCW), which have been in receipt of complaints of sexual violence and rape since more than a month refused to act for so long! The intervention of the Hon’ble Supreme Court has also sadly been a case of too little, too late.
It is extremely unfortunate and unforgivable that the most brazen and divisive politics is being played by the Government of the day and majoritarian, rightist forces, over the lives of vulnerable sections within Manipur, while allowing hate crimes to go on unhindered and unpunished. Infact, given their colossal failure, the Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister of Manipur must be asked to immediately step down, owning moral and legal responsibility.

Madam, we appeal to you; as a woman, as a representative of the adivasi community, custodian of tribal rights and a holder of the highest office under the Indian Constitution to immediately intervene in the light of these grave and deeply disturbing circumstances:

We urge you to immediately visit Manipur and interact with the affected people, especially the women who have suffered grave injustice and give them necessary assurance. The women of Manipur, especially from the Kuki-Zo tribal communities, need a calming, balming support which only someone of your stature can provide.

We also appeal to your good conscience to:

Call for a comprehensive and time-bound judicial inquiry into all acts of violence, so that all the accused who have perpetrated heinous crimes are arrested, including under SC & ST (PoA) Act, speedy trial and conviction, with life is ensured. Likewise, such an inquiry must fix the accountability of all law enforcement and political authorities, at all levels.
Ensure independent fact-finding, peace and justice missions of civil society are allowed to visit Manipur, especially the women, and the Government refrains from intimidatory tactics of stopping or filing FIRs against those visiting the state.
Uphold tribal rights and guarantee to the people that there shall be no unjust and arbitrary change in the list of the Scheduled Tribes, in violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
We hope you will do all that is possible, as head of the State to ensure peace and normalcy is restored back, both in the hills and valley of Manipur, adequate safety is ensured to those in vulnerable situations, especially the Kuki-Zo community and all the violators, at all levels, are brought to book.
Amidst all this mayhem, the Union Govt. is also trying to make far-reaching amendments to forest laws of the country, which will result in massive diversion of forest land across India, including in the North-East, loot of forest resources by private-corporate entities and displacement of adivasis and forest-dwelling communities. We urge you to not assent to these amendments, if and when they come to you from the Parliament, and insist on compliance with provisions of the Constitution, Forest Rights Act, 2006 and other enabling laws.

---
Click here see endorsements

Comments

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Women's rights leaders told to negotiate with Muslimness, as India's donor agencies shun the word Muslim

By A Representative Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has sharply criticized donor agencies engaged in nongovernmental development work, saying that they seek to "help out" marginalizes communities with their funds, but shy away from naming Muslims as the target group, something, he insisted, needs to change. Speaking at a book release function in Delhi, he said, since large sections of Muslims are poor, they need political as also social outreach.

Gujarat Bitcoin scam worth Rs 5,000 crore "linked" with BJP leaders: Need for Supreme Court monitored probe

By Shaktisinh Gohil* BJP hit a jackpot in the form of demonetisation, which it used as an alibi to convert black money into white in Gujarat. Even as party scrambles for answers of how the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB), whose director is BJP president Amit Shah, received old currency worth Rs 745.58 crore in just five days, and how Rs 3118.51 crore was deposited in 11 district cooperative banks linked with Gujarat BJP leaders, a new mega Bitcoin scam, worth more than Rs 5,000 crore has been unraveled.

Warning bells for India: Tribal exploitation by powerful corporate interests may turn into international issue

By Ashok Shrimali* Warning bells are ringing for India. Even as news drops in from Odisha that Adivasi villages, one after another, are rejecting the top UK-based MNC Vedanta's plea for mining, a recent move by two senior scholars Felix Padel and Samarendra Das suggests the way tribals are being exploited in India by powerful international and national business interests may become an international issue. In fact, one has only to count days when things may be taken up at the United Nations level, with India being pushed to the corner. Padel, it may be recalled, is a major British authority on indigenous peoples across the world, with several scholarly books to his credit.

Counterview

Search This Blog