In this festive season, when everyone is revelling, Manipur’s
Meiteis are standing in solidarity with the victims of the ethnic conflict in the
Northeastern State on Wednesday.
Mainly, Meitei women did not celebrate Ningol
Chakouba, the biggest festival of the community.
Ningol Chakouba, which the Meitei community celebrates
after Diwali, is akin to Bhai Dooj except that in Manipur it is the brothers,
who welcome their sisters from their matrimonial homes for a grand feast.
Multiple groups of women sat on hunger strike in the
valley areas in solidarity with the victims of the ethnic violence that began
on May 3, following a protest by the hill-majority Kuki tribes against the
valley-majority Meiteis’ demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes category.
The hunger strike came days after people in the valley
districts switched off lights for 10 minutes on Diwali night.
On Ningol Chakouba, all Meitei women, particularly those
who are married, wear their best traditional clothes, visit their natal homes
and enjoy various delectable dishes with their siblings and parents.
But this year’s Ningol Chakouba wore a gloomy look
with businesses in Imphal, the commercial hub of the State, coming to a
grinding halt. Only few people were seen on the streets.
“Owing to the current crisis which has remained
unresolved for the last six months, with more than 50,000 people displaced from
their homes, and many getting killed, how can we celebrate Ningol Chakouba this
year?” asked activist Thounaojam Ashakiran (47).
She and a few women hit the roads to express
solidarity by not celebrating the festival.
Ashakiran said this year’s Ningol Chakouba will go
down in the history of Manipur as “one of the darkest days”, as the age-old
tradition has been sidelined in order to show solidarity with the victims of
the ethnic clashes.
She urged the Centre and the State Government to work
towards bringing a lasting peace so that displaced people can safely return
home without any fear.
Women victims of violence from the border trading town
of Moreh, who have taken shelter at the Government Dance College in Imphal,
also joined in the show of solidarity.
Hundreds of displaced women in black outfits, with
placards in their hands, joined the event at the Palace Compound area in
Imphal.
“Meitei women keep counting the days for a day like
Ningol Chakouba. We join our parents and siblings in the best of our attire for
a family reunion over a multi-cuisine lunch on this day. But today, we have
decided to wear black clothes as a mark of respect to our brothers and sisters
who have laid down their lives to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur,”
said Kshetrimayum Chaobi (45), a displaced woman from Moreh.
Talking about this year’s sharp decline in sales
margin due to the ongoing conflict, trader Khaidem Somen from Imphal’s
Keishampat said during these festivals a day’s sales margin reached up to ₹ 3
lakh, adding, “But today, the sales margin hardly reach ₹ 10,000. It’s hard
times for business.”
Fruit vendor Leitanthem Subita from Ima Keithel
(Mother’s Market) in Imphal said sales margin reached up to ₹ 1 lakh every year
during Diwali and Chakouba festivals, adding this time she had to content
herself with just ₹ 20,000 in sales.
The show of solidarity was also marked by floral
tributes to those who died in the violence. A large number of women came to the
western gate of the Kangla Fort, the site of the ancient capital of Manipur,
and lit candles and offered flowers to the portraits of those who were killed
in the clashes.
NE Watch Desk
