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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday penned a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, conveying his deep distress over the “unspeakable torture” of women in violence-affected Manipur. He appealed to her to take necessary measures to establish peace in the northeastern state.
The country cannot let tribals in Manipur be treated in a “barbaric way”, CM Soren said in his letter to President Murmu, days after a video of women being paraded naked in the northeastern state led to massive outrage.
The Jharkhand CM, who himself comes from a tribal community, said ,”Silence in the face of cruelty is a terrible crime and so I am compelled today to write to you with a heavy heart and profound anguish over the ongoing spate of violence in the state of Manipur…I am deeply distressed and concerned about the spiralling situation in Manipur… unspeakable torture and sexual exploitation of women….”
Manipur has been “burning for two months, heart-wrenching videos are surfacing” and there is an “unparalleled breakdown of democratic governance”, Soren said.
He implored the President to ensure justice for the people of Manipur and to facilitate the restoration of peace in the region.
“In this darkest hour of crisis that Manipur and India face, we look up to you as the last source of hope and inspiration who could show the light in these troubled times to the people of Manipur and all citizens of India,” Soren added.
Since May 3, Manipur has been engulfed in ethnic clashes, pitting the majority Meitei community residing in the Imphal valley against the tribal Kukis living in the hills.
The situation has turned grim, resulting in over 160 fatalities and numerous injuries since the outbreak of ethnic violence in early May. The tensions escalated when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
