The bodies of 87 members of the Kuki-Zo communities were laid to rest in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Wednesday, more than seven months after they died in a long-drawn ethnic conflict.
The mass burial took place at Sehken after the final tribute at Tuibong nearby, a spokesperson of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) said.
Of the bodies interred, 41 had been airlifted from two morgues in the State’s capital Imphal on December 14, he said. The other 46 bodies were brought from the Churachandpur Civil Hospital morgue.
The mass burial was the second such solemn ceremony after 19 victims of the violence were laid to rest in Kangpokpi district on December 15. Churachandpur and Kangpokpi are hill districts dominated by the Kuki-Zo community.
Imphal and the valley around it are dominated by the Meitei community. One of the triggers for the violence that broke out on May 3 was the demand of a section of the Meitei community for Scheduled Tribe status.
The mass burial in Churachandpur, however, was preceded by a clash between the Kuki and Zomi people, leaving more than 20 people injured and forcing the local authorities to impose Section 144 for two months on December 18. The alleged disrespect to a Zomi community flag and the naming of the burial is said to have led to the clash.
The unrest in Manipur has claimed the lives of almost 200 people and displaced about 60,000. Since May, most Kuki-Zo and Meitei people have moved out of each others’ territories.
