Union Govt Terming Manipur Tensions 'Communal Violence' for Compensation Disbursal: Report
This was reportedly the only nomenclature that could apply while clearing processes for the disbursal of compensation.
New Delhi: While the Union government maintains that the violence in Manipur is on ethnic lines, between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, it has officially designated it as ‘communal violence’ for procedural reasons, Economic Times reported.
This was reportedly the only nomenclature that could apply while clearing processes for the disbursal of compensation.
“We do not see the Manipur violence as religion-specific in nature. It is an ethnic conflict with several other dimensions to it. However, we had to categorise it as an act of ‘communal violence’ for governmental processes. Existing schemes to ensure compensation and relief to the impacted people do not cover such incidents. Therefore, processes have required us to fit it into the communal violence category so that timely compensation can be given to the violence-affected persons or their next oof kin,” an official told the newspaper.
“The Centre and state have invoked the 2022 central scheme for assistance to civilian victims/family of victims of terrorist/communal/left-wing extremist violence, cross border firing and mine/IED blast on Indian territory for extending compensation to those impacted by the violence in the state” according to the Economic Times report.
According to these guidelines, ‘communal violence’ refers to “planned and organised acts of violence by members of a community against members of another community to create or express ill-will or hatred and leading to loss of life or injuries to people”.
Chief minister N. Biren Singh, who has come under severe criticism for his handling of the crisis in the state and inability to stop the violence, had earlier tried to claim that there was no inter-community tension in Manipur and the violence was being instigated against security forces by “Kuki militants” and “poppy cultivators” against his government’s eviction drive. This statement, however, was contradicted by none other than the chief of defence staff, who said that the current violence in Manipur “had nothing to do with counter-insurgency and was primarily a clash between two ethnicities”.
Ethnic violence began in the state on May 3 and close to 200 people have lost their lives since. Anger between the communities and against the government and its forces remain high.