Unicaus NEWS
Protesters being confronted by safety forces as they march in direction of the Sangai Festival venue in Imphal on Thursday. | Photo Credit: ANI
The protesters, comprising internally displaced individuals and members of some non-profit organisations, tried to storm the pageant venue as they felt the State was but to get well from the scars of the ethnic violence that broke out on May 3, 2023.
Security personnel restored order by firing tear gasoline shells and wielding batons.
The protesters stated the authorities ought to first resolve the ethnic battle and resettle the internally displaced individuals earlier than organising “extravagant” festivals.
More than 260 folks died, and a few 62,000 others had been displaced within the battle between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the non-tribal Meitei communities in Manipur.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an Imphal valley-based Meitei organisation, stated it staged a mass agitation together with the internally displaced individuals in opposition to the State administration’s “unilateral determination” to proceed with the Sangai Festival.
The COCOMI condemned the “brutal and unprovoked actions of the safety forces in opposition to peaceable protesters that resulted in accidents to a number of people”. One of its leaders was allegedly arrested by the police.
Use of power
“Such extreme and focused use of power upon civil society leaders is a transparent violation of democratic norms and basic civic rights,” the COCOMI stated in a press release.
The organisation criticised the Governor-led administration working beneath President’s Rule for “pushing ahead an anti-people Sangai Festival 2025 with out the consent, cooperation, or confidence of the folks of Manipur”.
“At a time when hundreds of our personal folks stay displaced, when normalcy is but to be restored, and when the injuries of violence are nonetheless recent, the State’s insistence on an extravagant pageant is insensitive, misplaced, and in opposition to the needs of the folks,” the COCOMI stated.
It stated the Manipur authorities should restore the elemental rights and freedom of motion of all residents, make sure the protected return of the internally displaced individuals to their properties, re-establish peace and normalcy throughout the State, and cease all types of coercion and suppression in opposition to civilian voices, earlier than going right into a celebration mode.
The COCOMI additionally referred to as upon all residents to hitch a mass demonstration on Friday in opposition to the Festival.
Published – November 21, 2025 01:24 am IST
