End forever all violence that shames each of us
In early May, the northeastern state of Manipur descended into ethnic violence, wedged in agony between warring Kuki and Meitei groups. What began as a protest against Scheduled Tribe status for the latter morphed into bloodshed, spurts of which have been reported on and off since. It took a viral video of women paraded naked by a mob to jolt the country’s establishment into an overdue recognition: Not only does the state need urgent intervention, we would fail the most basic of our national promises if we do not put a definitive end to all forms of mass violence, the brunt of which is mostly borne by women.
In the incident that has evoked outrage across India, traced by local authorities to 4 May, the younger of the two Kuki victims who were forced to walk naked into a field was assaulted sexually; her father and brother had been killed shortly earlier; and by her account, as reported, it was the police that had turned them over to the Meitei mob. The country has had a tragic history of strip-parade humiliation heaped upon women. A Dalit woman in Maharashtra’s Satara district 11 years ago suffered this and a thrashing because her son had eloped with a high-caste girl.
In 2015, the rights of five Dalit women were similarly violated in Hareva village of Uttar Pradesh. But the Manipur case stands out for making our skin crawl in even more ways. Last reported, a sole arrest had been made in the case, long after a police report was filed that does not appear to acknowledge any role played by the cops themselves.
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