23 victims of Manipur violence were laid to rest in a mass burial

A mass burial of 23 victims of the Manipur violence was observed on Friday; after 7 months since May 3. The last rites of the victims were performed at the martyr’s cemetery at Phaijang village of the Kangpokpi district, where posters that read “You Sacrifice Your Today For Our Tomorrow” were hung in remembrance of the lives lost.

Following a Supreme Court directive that had instructed the state government to facilitate a “dignified and decent” burial of those who had lost their lives by December 11, the bodies of the deceased that were kept in various government mortuaries were finally airlifted in IAF choppers from Imphal and Churachandpur and handed over to the bereaved families on Thursday.

 The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) in a statement said that the “much-awaited homecoming” of their “fallen brothers and sisters” marks the end of a period of “long tumultuous eight months of despair, heartbreak and hopelessness.” To ensure law and order, a total shutdown was imposed from 5 am to 5 pm in the Kangpokpi district. As a symbol of collective solidarity, the COTU had instructed the Kuki-Zo people across Kangpokpi to hoist black flags at their homes. Gun salutes were offered in respect as the coffins were laid down to their final rest at the martyr’s cemetery.

Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, the chaos that ensued in the northeastern state claimed over 180 lives and displaced thousands.

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