Caught In Crossfire, Manipur Muslims Ask Meiteis, Kukis To Stop Fighting

On the strip of land, 35 km apart between these two districts, are some Meitei Pangals, or Muslims, who are caught in the deadly crossfire between the Kuki tribe and the Meiteis

 Muslims in Manipur's Kwakta said they are worried by the Meitei-Kuki clashes

Kwakta: Over a hundred days have passed since Manipur saw ethnic violence. The situation is gradually returning to normal, and for the previous few days, no significant event has been recorded.

But in the area where the fighting took place, which is between the Meitei- and Kuki-dominated Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts, incessant gunfire and bombings have replaced the previous normal.

Some Meitei Pangals, or Muslims, live on the narrow strip of territory that separates these two regions by 35 kilometers and are thus trapped in the fatal crossfire between the Kuki tribe and the Meiteis.

9 percent of Manipur's 32 lakh estimated residents are Muslims.Muslims who are caught up in the turmoil between the Kukis and Meiteis are pleading for peace as the battle between the two groups rages.

When NDTV visited the village of Kwakta in the Bishnupur district, the police had blocked the roads, essentially delineating the frontline because Churachandpur, the Kuki-dominated region, was beyond.

Three individuals, including a father and his kid, were murdered on August 6 in Bishnupur district while they slept in their rural house. The Meiteis claim that nighttime infiltration by criminals from Churachandpur led to the family's attack.

Due to the circumstances, the security forces used two of the masjids in Kwakta for a few hours, and shooting took place. However, after explaining our predicament to them, they departed, according to Salauddin Qasimi of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind in Bishnupur district, who spoke to NDTV.

Meiteis and Kukis used to reside next to one another in Kwakta, a multiethnic community. 90% of the population of the town is Muslim, nonetheless. Manipur's Muslims are helplessly caught in the crossfire of the Meiteis and Kukis while being outside of the war. Their means of support at Kwakta are destroyed.

"Kwakta residents have been experiencing terror. Food and other necessities have skyrocketed in price, and life is at its most precarious. Because so many explosions have destroyed schools, students cannot attend classes, Muslim scholar Nasir Khan of Kwakta told NDTV.

Muslims have pleaded with their Meitei and Kuki neighbors to put an end to the bloodshed.

"As a minority group, Meitei Pangals have suffered greatly, just as Nepalis and other groups. Life has been messed up. In order to restore peace, we implore our Meitei and Kuki brothers and sisters, said a local Muslim leader, Hazi Rafat Ali, to NDTV.

Muslim leaders from Manipur had been to Delhi to request increased protection in their communities.

Due to its location on the border of the Kuki-majority Churachandpur district and the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district, Kwakta town has been in the center of the violence for the past three months, resulting in at least 12 injuries.