The video of the two Kuki tribe women being sexually assaulted drew a reaction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who ordered all the chief ministers of the country to tighten the law and increase the safety of women in the country. However, the truth behind the horrific video has been revealed, as the victims of the crime spoke up. The shocking incident of sexual assault in Manipur was actually sparked by misinformation and a piece of fake news, inciting anger in the residents.
Months ago, a photo of a woman was circulated on social media claiming that she was a woman from the Meitei tribe in Manipur and that she was raped and killed during the tribe wars in the state amid the ongoing violence, which led to a major backlash from the Meitei community. It was later revealed that that photo of the woman’s body was actually a rape victim from Delhi and had no connection to Manipur. However, it became grounds for the horrific incident that took place on the streets of the violence-torn state. As a retaliation measure, several men from the Meitei tribe dragged two women on the streets and stripped them naked. The women were paraded naked on the streets as men forcefully fondled them and sexually assaulted them. The two victims – a 40-year-old woman and a teenager – were later gang raped by a mob of 50 men. One of the victims of the gang rape, while speaking to The Print, said that the entire incident of revenge was sparked because of fake news. The prime accused of the incident has been arrested, and a high-level investigation has been launched by the authorities.[DNA NEWS] II https://youtu.be/-N882aJkPb0 Republic video Arnab III In a highly ethnic-conscious state like Manipur, everything is viewed from an ethnic lens. The hill-valley conundrum with regard to reservations, uneven development and representation in the state are discourses driven by ethnicity. And in the ensuing carnage in Manipur <https://www.india.gov.in/official-website-manipur>, the ethnic divide has ushered in a state of post-truth wherein people’s opinions are shaped less by objective facts and more by unsubstantiated facts that suit people’s emotions and beliefs. The post-truth phenomenon is a manifestation of the breakdown or rather the failure of the institutions of truth-telling. In Manipur, the emergence of post-truth can be located to the failure of the state government and news media. The failure of the government could be attributed to two reasons. One is the lack of trust of the minor group against a government led by the major community. Two, the deliberation made by the state authority figures to malign the minor community. And the failure of news media could be attributed to the fact there is no independent media group that has true statewide influence or at least reports on state news from a non-ethnic perspective. National media with the exception of a few have covered the conflict in fragments and without in-depth or nuanced analysis, thus engaging in willful amnesia, distancing the issue from New Delhi where the politicking takes place, and othering the Northeast and Manipur, particularly from the ‘Indian’ consciousness. It appears at least to me that the partisan approaches used by the two institutions in the wake of the ethnic violence have stripped the state of its status as the emblem of truth and justice, and the media as the fourth pillar of democracy that speaks truth to power to steer the consciousness of the nation. In other words, the two institutions of truth-telling have prioritized material values over human and moral values. With the failure of the state and news media to tell the truth, we see the emergence of Web 2.0 as the means for news and information through which narratives are weaved and the truth is broken into small suitable facts to tell a desired story, thus entrenching confusion and fiction in the game of truth-telling. The one truth claim that refuses to settle down since the violence broke out is who are the ‘men in black’ that are rioting and transforming themselves into killing machines? The Meiteis have claimed that the men in black are Kuki militants and volunteers who are attacking and killing the former. On the contrary, the Kukis claimed that the men in black are the volunteers of Arambai Tenggol, a civil group whose focus is the nation and culture but has in recent times become a radicalized armed militia. The recent clash of claims happened in the second week of June 2023. The People’s Chronicle filed a news report wherein an image was shared in which a trail of men in black are seen marching. It was alleged that these men are Kukis and they are out to attack the Meiteis. The same image was used by Zogam Mosi, a Zomi-Kuki Twitter group, to claim that the radical Meitei militants are coming from the valley to attack Lamka, a place dominated by the former. Post-truth also manifests in the form of incorrect or inaccurate reporting. Here we instances of rape news and killings in gun battles. When the violence first broke out, there was news that a medical student from the major community was raped and her eyes gouged out. Though the news was later corrected as false, it continues to have a life of its own. Likewise, a video containing a brutal scene of killing a girl from a minority community was proven to be false. Although the narratives are corrected they have served the purpose which is to demonize a group of people. The latest of such misinformation reporting was about the gun battle at Boljang village in Kangpoki distinct on 22 June where it was misreported that several militants were killed. Such news is disseminated with the intention to malign a community and also perpetuate violence. But this news was later reported to be incorrect by EastMojo, an independent media based in Assam. What we see in these instances is that good reporting prevailed, but there are instances where conflicting claims are pitched in unresolved contradictions. One of them is who started the fire that has burned down villages and towns and continues to inflame insuppressible rage. There are many more claims and counter-claims and reporting and misreporting that would be manufactured in the days to come to suit a certain narrative. I am saying this with a certain degree of certainty because social media allows one to express without accountability. It is this lack of accountability that enables people to manufacture lies in the disguise of news and truth, and it is this practice that has made this conflict different and more durable than the previous outbursts of ethnic conflict in the state. IV Then there’s drug-running. In the Supreme Court last month, the Centre and state government attributed the ethnic conflict to the crackdown on poppy cultivation in the hills. A lot has been written on the subject in the local press. One article holds that the ‘tribal elites’ will not brook interference in this lucrative trade, which has substantially enriched them and led not only to a high incidence of drug addiction but the spectre of narco-terrorism. Illegal migration appears to be a bone of contention. From 1974 onwards (when the military junta took over in Myanmar) refugees have streamed across the 390-km, porous border into Manipur. The numbers multiplied significantly after the return of the junta in 2021. The allegation is that the hill tribes have welcomed the refugees owing to a shared ethnicity and settled them illegally in protected or reserved forests. (Some might argue that this is a human rights issue.) [FREE PRESS JOURNAL] V https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2023-07/image1.jpg?VersionId=GiqlRhOgLOcq7bNkphQHxqGn2cisuH_X The above is Manipur false propaganda problems and the reality is: India Today found that the viral video shows a protest that took place in Chhattisgarh against the state's inaction on recruitment for government jobs on the basis of alleged fake caste certificates. A keyword search led us to several media reports from July 2023. The Free Press Journal <https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/chhattisgarh-men-hold-nude-protest-in-raipur-demand-action-against-employees-with-fake-caste-certificates-shocking-video-emerges> reported that a few men took part in a naked protest outside the state assembly in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, to bring the government's attention to the issue of fake caste certificate menace in government jobs in the state. A report <https://indianexpress.com/article/india/chhattisgarh-day-after-nude-protest-bail-plea-of-men-rejected-8849169/> by the Indian Express noted that a Chhattisgarh court rejected the bail application of 29 men who were arrested for protesting nude near the Vidhan Sabha in Raipur. According to the report, all the men were from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The issue goes back to 2020 when a committee was constituted to verify if government jobs were given on the basis of allegedly fake caste certificates between 2000 to 2020. The committee, in its findings, revealed that of 758 caste certificates of government servants scrutinized, 267 were found to be fake. Thus, it’s clear that a video of a naked protest in Chhattisgarh against fake caste certificates is being passed off as a protest against women being paraded naked in Manipur. VI PM STAND Mr MODI For more than 70 days now, people from Manipur and those outside have been urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on the ethnic conflict in the state, which has claimed about 150 lives and left tens of thousands displaced and cut off from their livelihoods. When Modi finally spoke on the issue on Thursday morning, though, his remarks were unlikely to have soothed those who were demanding his intervention. Outside the parliament building on Thursday, Modi referred specifically to the harrowing video that went viral on social media the day before – showing two Kuki women being paraded naked in Kangpokpi on May 4. The FIR on the incident states that one of them was gang-raped. The prime minister claimed that he was distressed and angered by what he had learnt, and that “all states” must do whatever they can to protect “our mothers and sisters”. He made a deliberate attempt not to single out Manipur – where his party is in power – and also named Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as states where the governments must take action against perpetrators of violence against women. Unsurprisingly, he did not mention other BJP states that have seen violent incidents against women and girls. After these incidents, BJP lawmakers have often chosen to side with the accused – the Kathua rape case and Bilkis Bano gang rape case are good examples of this. 1. The violence itself Since May 3, there has been a continuous stream of violence in the state. Tensions escalated after the majority Meitei community’s demand for ST status was granted legitimacy by the Manipur high court. Hill tribes in Manipur thought this would infringe upon their rights and carried out a protest. Ever since then, targeted violence, looting of weapons, action by vigilante groups including those of women and deaths and injuries in the state have made daily news. If one only had the prime minister’s speech to go by, however, none of this would appear to have happened. He referred to the incident in question as if it occurred in a vacuum. Since it did not refer to the large-scale violence, Modi’s speech also made no appeal for peace – the one thing all parties have been demanding of him from the start. Modi also did not once address the people of Manipur – the worst affected – directly in his address. 2. Anger against the state government The BJP government headed by chief minister N. Biren Singh has come under intense criticism for its handling of the situation. Early into the violence, Singh claimed there was no ethnic angle at play – and blamed “terrorists” and “infiltrators” for what was going on. Later, he referred to those criticising him on Twitter as “Kukis” and “from Myanmar”. Kuki groups have reiterated multiple times that they have no faith in Singh, a Meitei, who they believe is allowing armed Meitei groups to target and kill them. Meitei groups too have accused him of not doing enough to safeguard lives and properties. There have been multiple and continuous calls for his resignation, given his government’s failure to bring about normalcy or win the people’s confidence, but Singh continues in his post. Even though BJP-allied parties too have questioned this, Modi had nothing to say about how his party and its leaders have been unable to control a volatile situation – and have even been accused of making it worse for political gain. 3. The information blackout The shocking incident Modi talked about – of two Kuki women being paraded naked and one of them being gang raped – took place on May 4. It made it to all national headlines and caught political attention only on July 19. Reports say that the Union government is planning to take action against Twitter for platforming this video – even though it is only because the video caught public attention that action is being taken and Modi himself had to comment on it. The state government has ordered a complete internet shutdown in the state since May 3, claiming that this will help restore peace and stop the spread of rumours. However, many have argued that this shutdown has in fact played the opposite role – ensuring that factual, important information and details on the scale of the violence remain unavailable to the public. In addition, journalists and others trying to reveal reliable information have been working under difficult and antagonistic conditions. Members of a fact-finding commission who said “state-sponsored violence” was at play are now facing a police case. The Modi government has turned India into the internet shutdown capital of the world since 2015. This was mentioned at a G20 meeting last week as well. Information is seen to be stifled rather than responded to and accountability established. This was clear during the farmers’ protest too. Journalists have been routinely imprisoned for reporting facts; Kashmir is only the worst of the states. Had this video not come out, would there have been any response at all? KR The reliability of the news media can be seen as seen above. The learned must think why after all, when the state and the center holding BJP power, shall remain silent as media hypes? Had the close watchers were observing. say since the 1960s, sabotages and exploitations were revealed long after, only though the books and the films. The 2024 new fever spreading where Mamta had decided to capture the power of center with her as PM, will show many states, being hit hard, either to stop people from poling or turn the sympathy votes, for the opposition. Mamta culture is that; 24 Paragana is not to be erased out. She is trapped wholly by the center and the enforcement (many in Q) The only way to survive is the pelting stones. Don’t we know seeing from our groups itself? KR IRS 22 7 23 On Sat, 22 Jul 2023 at 01:00, 'N Sekar' via iyer123 < [email protected]> wrote: > > Violence in Manipur is Beneficial for India > > How? > > > Truth of Manipur > Kalaya Tasmai Namah > > There is hue & cry everywhere.. Manipur is burning..........But what is > the truth? > > The truth is that the present BJP government has ended the opium business > in Manipur. The government has destroyed over 18,000 acres of opium > plantations in the last 5 years. > > Those who were harmed made it into a tribal conflict between kuki & Maiti. > Initially in Manipur, the common man was getting killed. Everyone was > silent. > > Then the army landed on the ground.. Terrorists were killed. > > Many temples & places of worship of the local residents were burn. > Everyone remained silent. > > Immediately the video of Sonia Gandhi came... > > Why were Sonia, Uddhav, Mamta, Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav sad over > Manipur violence? > > Why they werent sad over the incident in Bhopal where a Hindu youth was > paraded like a dog?? > > Know a clear reason why the opposition party is sad over the Manipur > violence. > > The natives of Manipur are the Maiti Tribals. > > Before independence, there were fierce wars between the kings of Manipur. > At thatvtime, many weak Maiti Kings took a large number of Kuki & Rohingya > warriors from the neighbouring Myanmar in their army. > > Aftet the war, slowly these Kuki warriors started making their residence > in Manipur & started raising families. > > Soon the Kuki population started increasing rapidly. > > They were extremely aggressive & the Kukis occupied the high hills of > Manipur. They chased away the Maiti Tribals from there. The Maiti tribals > fled and started living in the plains of Manipur. > > Foreign Kukis and Rohingyas started cultivating opium in the high hills of > Manipur. > > As we know, Manipur is bordered by China and Myanmar. China started eyeing > Manipur and started helping anti-India parties Pakistan also started > infiltrating into Manipur through Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar. > > But the biggest conspiracy was created by the Christian Missionaries. > Missionaries built more than 2,000 Churches in the tribal areas of Manipur > and Christian missionaries began a program of rapid conversion. In this > process, most of the Maiti Tribals were converted to Christianity. > > Manipur was continuously involved in fierce violence in the year 1981. > Indira Gandhi was the then Prime Minister. More than 10,000 Maiti Tribals > were killed in that biolence. After that Indira Gandhi woke up and the army > was sent and somehow peace was established. In the peace agreement, it was > decided that Maiti would live in the plains and Kuki would live on the > hills above. Due to this arrangement peace was made. > > In this, the native Maiti suffered a lot. Gradually, the Kuki, Rohingya & > Naga communities started large-scale cultivation of opium in the high hills > of Manipur. Cultivation of opium started in thousands of fields. Trade > worth trillions of rupees started. Due to this, the drug mafia and > terrorist organizations became active and weapons were supplied freely. > > In the year 2008, a fierce civil started again. Then on the instructions > of Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Government, along with > Kuki & Converted Christians, made an agreement with the Maiti Tribals. The > Govt. by gave official recognition to the cultivation of opium in the high > hills of Manipur. > > Police was instructed not to take action. After this, drugs started being > sent rapidly from Manipur to the whole of India. Manipur became the Golden > Triangle of narcotics. With financial help from China, Afghanistan, > Pakistan & Myanmar, the opium grown from Manipur was sent to other states > of India. States like Punjab got badly affected as the youth took to drugs. > > But in the year 2014 there was a change in the Government at the center. > > The eyes of the Central Government was on entire India, where religious > conversions were taking place. Hindus were seen to be danger. The states > who were trying to separate themselves from India were identified. Slow > action started in these states. In Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal > Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu. > > Based on intelligence, the Central Government started working secretly. > > Central Govt. got success in Jammu Kashmir & in Assam. In the assembly > elections of the year 2023, Bharatiya Janata Party got success in Manipur > for the first time and Virender Singh, who came from Congress to BJP, was > made Chief Minister by Bharatiya Janata Party. Chief Minister Virendra > Singh of Maiti community has been doing politics in Manipur for 30 years > and he knew the basic problem of Manipur. Virendra Singh himself comes > from the Maiti community. He knew about the tribal crisis. Narendra Modi > and Amit Shah instructed Virendra Singh to destroy opium cultivation. > > After this, Chief Minister Virendra Singh attacked opium cultivation and > destroyed thousands of acres of opium plantations. > > Coinciding with this, there were disturbances in China and Pakistan. They > somehow wanted to re-start opium cultivation again in Manipur. > > Even before independence, the Maiti community had the status of a tribal > society and used to come under the ST category. But after independence, > the then Central Government took out the ST status from the Maiti > community and made the Christian Missionary and Kuki community ST. Maiti > people got angry with this and started showing continuous anger. Due to > this, violence was taking place in Manipur again and again. In the year > 2010, Maiti Samaj filed a petition in the High Court and demanded to be > included in the ST category. In the year 2023, the High Court accepted the > claim of Maiti Samaj and issued orders to re-include Maiti Samaj in the > tribal category. Since the Christian & the Kuki people were angry with the > stoppage of opium cultivation and stopping the spread of religion by the > missionaries, they took full advantage of the High Court's order and set > fire to Manipur. > > Today the violence that is being seen in Manipur has been beneficial for > India because Maiti community has destroyed about 300 churches of Christian > Missionaries. Christian Missionaries are being attacked. Now, Kukis are > being chased away from wherever they are in Manipur. > > What is happening is beneficial for India. > > Otherwise, Manipur was soon on the way to become a new country. > > Had the BJP government not been formed in the year 2014, China would have > gradually occupied Manipur. > > But very cleverly, the Modi government started giving their rights to the > native Indians in Manipur. > > For the last 70 years, Manipur was ruled by the Congress. After looking to > BJP, all the opposition parties are angry. Christian Missionaries are > defaming the Modi Government for the violence in Manipur. > > The general public does not know that the violence of Manipur is very > necessary for India. > > Read this post thoroughly and forward it so that people will know what is > the real reason for the violence in Manipur. Let people know who are the > traitors. > > Traitors are the Congress, the media, the paid journalists. > > Now the media is showing that the Crown Prince of Congress visiting > Manipur to save Christians & the Rohingyas. > > > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iyer123" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/886941014.3048544.1690012796802%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/886941014.3048544.1690012796802%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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