Manipur: ITLF calls for low-key Christmas and New Year celebrations due to the ongoing crisis

Guwahati: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a conglomerate of recognised tribes in Manipur, on Wednesday, through an advisory, asked the people of the strife-torn state not to celebrate Christmas and New Year with fanfare.

In an advisory issued by ITLF leader Ginza Vualzong, asked the people of Manipur for low-key Christmas and New Year celebrations owing to the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state.

Vualzong in the advisory said that due to the prevailing atmosphere in the state, the frontline villagers are under threat, adding, that the bodies of those killed in the ethnic clashes remain unburied, in view of which the people should refrain from indulging in overtly conspicuous celebrations and other forms of enjoyment during these hard times.

Vuazong also asked all communities and churches for muted Christmas and New Year celebrations by observing just the normal church service and not organise feasts and fellowship events like Lengkhawm.

The ITLF spokesperson asked the people to limit outdoor activities by finishing games and other sports events like Futsal by 8 pm and to close the shops and outdoor food stalls around the same time. He also asked all the citizens to stay alert and be prepared for any disturbance during Christmas and New Year.

Christmas is notably the biggest occasion for the Kuki people as the majority of them follow Christianity.

Though no major incident has occurred in the state after December 4, when 13 people were killed in a fierce gun battle between two underground groups Tengnoupal district, sporadic incidents continue to be reported from some parts of the crisis-hit state.

At least 190 people have been killed in the over-seven-month conflict and more than a thousand others have been left injured. Moreover, 60,000 people have been rendered homeless. The security forces have been keeping a tight vigil across the state to prevent any untoward incident.

Clashes between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi communities erupted on May 3 this year after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.