A week after 21 MLAs of Manipur urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to reinstate a popular government in the state, BJP’s North East in-charge Sambit Patra arrived in Imphal on Monday and held meetings with some political leaders. A BJP leader said that Patra, during his two-day stay in Manipur, would hold a series of meetings with MLAs and leaders of Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.

“Soon after his arrival in Imphal, Patra went to Churachandpur, where he met local MLA Vungzagin Valte (who belongs to the Kuki community). Returning to Imphal, he met former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, Manipur Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh and other leaders,” the leader said. The BJP’s North East in-charge is likely to meet some MLAs, former ministers, and leaders of various factions. Manipur has been under the President’s Rule since February 13, four days after the resignation of N. Biren Singh from the Chief Minister’s post. The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which, after the promulgation of President’s Rule, has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.

Meanwhile, 21 Members of the Manipur Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in a joint letter on April 29 have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to reinstate a popular government in the state. One of the MLAs confirmed the development and said that out of the 21 lawmakers, most belong to the BJP and the remaining are from the National People’s Party (NPP), Naga People’s Front (NPF) and two independent legislators.

The letter of the MLAs to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister said that the people of Manipur welcome the President’s Rule with lots of hope and expectations, but no visible actions to bring peace and normalcy in the state have been seen so far. The MLAs said that the installation of a popular government is the only means to bring peace and normalcy in Manipur. In a bid to resolve the two-year-long ethnic hostilities, the first tripartite meeting between the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the representatives of Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities was held in New Delhi on April 5.

–IANS

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The Manipur Police have arrested six militants of different outfits and seized a cache of arms and ammunition, officials said here on Thursday.

The police also seized drugs worth Rs 3.15 crore and arrested three smugglers, the officials said. A police official said that two cadres of the proscribed outfit People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were arrested from Imphal West district on Wednesday night.

Two more militants of People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) (Pro) outfit and an active member of Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) were arrested from Imphal East district.

The police also arrested a militant of the Koireng-led United National Liberation Front (UNLF-K) from Tengnoupal district. The arrested militants were involved in abduction, forcible collection of money from traders, officials, contractors, and issuing threat notices to people.

Several two-wheelers, mobile sets, sharp-edged weapons, incriminating documents and various other materials were recovered from the militants.

Manipur Police arrested three drug peddlers from Imphal East district and recovered 10.5 kg of heroin valued at Rs 3.15 crore from their possession. The drugs, suspected to be smuggled from Myanmar, were contained in 880 soap cases. A car in which the smugglers were travelling was also seized. Manipur has around 400 km of unfenced border with Myanmar.

The police also recovered a cache of arms and ammunition, including AK series rifles and Self-Loading Rifles, from Imphal East and Kakching districts. On Wednesday, five militants were arrested and a cache of arms and ammunition was seized in Manipur.

The militants of the banned United National Liberation Front (Koireng faction) were identified as Thongam Ronaldo Singh (26) and Khuraijam Micheal Singh (28). Manipur Police arrested three drug peddlers who were involved in the transportation of drugs along National Highway-02 (Imphal to Senapati district) in Imphal West district on Tuesday night.

Police recovered 5.5 kg of heroin valued at Rs two crore from their possession.

–IANS

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The all-important meeting to find a way out to resolve the over 17-month-long ethnic strife in Manipur was held in New Delhi on Tuesday, sources said. Sources said that Ministers and MLAs belonging to the Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities attended the meeting called by the Intelligence Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

“Several rounds of meetings between the MHA officials and the elected representatives, civil societies and NGOs would be held in the upcoming weeks to find out a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis in Manipur,” the sources said. After around a four-hour-long meeting, neither the officials nor the Ministers and MLAs talked to the media to disclose the outcome of the meeting. Manipur Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, MLA Thongam Biswajit, belonging to the Meitei community, and representatives from the Kuki community — Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen, both ministers — attended the meeting. MLAs Ram Muviah, Awangbow Newmai and L. Dikho attended the meeting from the Naga community.

However, a highly placed source told IANS that several Ministers and legislators from the three communities — Meitei, Kuki and Naga — attended the meeting and raised their demands and viewpoints over the ethnic riot. An MLA, belonging to the Kuki community, on condition of anonymity said that they would discuss the matters of Tuesday’s meeting with their community leaders and functionaries then they would disclose their next course of action. “Because the meeting was called by the Central government, that’s why they attended the meeting. We do not have any faith in the Manipur state government,” the legislator told IANS over the phone from New Delhi.

He said that MHA’s advisor, North East Affairs, A. K. Mishra and other senior officials were present at the meeting. Tuesday’s meeting was the first deliberations convened by the government after the ethnic conflict broke out between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur on May 3 last year. The vital meeting was held on Tuesday after Home Minister Amit Shah last month indicated to resolve the ethnic imbroglio in Manipur through discussions between the Meiteis and Kukis. On June 17, the Home Minister during a review meeting on the law and order situation in Manipur gave similar indications. Meanwhile, 10 MLAs, including seven BJP legislators, and several Kuki-Zo organisations including Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) since the ethnic violence started in Manipur in May last year, have been demanding separate administrations or a Union Territory for the Kuki-Zo tribals in Manipur.

The 10 legislators included Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen, who are ministers in Chief Minister N. Biren Singh-led 12-member ministry in Manipur. The state and the Central governments have on a number of occasions rejected the demand for separate administrations or a Union Territory. The ethnic violence between the non-tribals Meiteis and tribal Kuki-Zo broke out in the northeastern state on May 3 last 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.

So far, over 230 people have been killed in the strife. As many as 11,133 houses have been set on fire, out of which 4,569 homes have been completely destroyed. A total of 11,892 cases have been registered in different police stations in connection with the ethnic violence. The state government has established 302 relief camps to provide shelter to 59,414 internally displaced persons.

–IANS

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On 23 July 2023, Subhashini Ali, a former Lok Sabha MP and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, posted a picture of two men dressed in RSS attire, along with a screenshot from a viral video of the Manipur incident claiming that the men were the accused involved in the Manipur incident in which a mob paraded two women naked and allegedly gang-raped one of them.

She said “They are the Manipur accused. Recognise them by their clothes.”

https://twitter.com/SubhashiniAli/status/1683029085851914244

However, her claim was challenged by netizens who called it propaganda and pointed out that it was fake news. The two individuals in the picture are BJP State Vice-President Chidananda Singh and his son.

Subhashini Ali later apologized for the misinformation but did not correct or delete her initial tweet.

This is incorrect. Sincere apologies https://t.co/YRFaOVX4mU

— Subhashini Ali (@SubhashiniAli) July 23, 2023

The same image and claim were also shared by other social media accounts, supporting the Congress and Communists. One handle by the name of Shankar Kondaparthi on Twitter stated that these two individuals were the ones who led women naked in Manipur.

Incidentally, Student Union President of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Aishe Ghosh shared a drawing that implied RSS to be behind the tragic incident.

https://twitter.com/aishe_ghosh/status/1681889790386655232

In response to the fake news being circulated, BJP State Vice-President Chidananda Singh took action and wrote a letter to the Manipur DGP, requesting legal measures be taken.

He clarified that the photo used in the fake news was edited and pasted with pictures of himself and his son wearing the RSS uniform. The original photo had been downloaded from his Facebook page.

Chidananda Singh mentioned the names of the groups and individuals who shared the false information and asked the DGP to take necessary actions against them. He emphasized that he and his family had no connection to the 4 May 2023 incident portrayed in the viral video.

He further expressed his intention to file defamation cases against those responsible for spreading the fake news on Twitter, maligning him, his family, and the RSS organization.

Later on, the Manipur Police confirmed on Twitter that they had registered a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) based on Chidananda Singh’s complaint.

*FIR registered for spreading false news:*
On 23.07.2023, Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Manipur received a report from a functionary of a political party that a picture of him and his son collaged with a screenshot of the viral video of two women paraded,

1/3

— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) July 23, 2023

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the creation of 1 lakh jobs by MSMEs in Manipur.

In reply to a tweet by the Chief Minister of Manipur, Shri N Biren Singh, the Prime Minister said;

“Well done Manipur! Keep up the good work of leveraging the strength of the MSME sector in order to further the state’s progress.”

Well done Manipur! Keep up the good work of leveraging the strength of the MSME sector in order to further the state’s progress. https://t.co/qHYAygCQ2c

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 30, 2021

According to the Manipur is one of the highest ranking States in the North East Region in both Registration of MSMEs and Employment generation in the GoI’s Analysis of Udyam Registration Data.

As per the GoI’s data, a total of 11172 MSMEs were registered from Manipur as of 30th July 2021, which has generated a massive employment of 99568 jobs. We have started witnessing the fruits of our initiatives like Start-Up Manipur, TRIFED etc.

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Govindas Konthoujam, the president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), resigned on Tuesday (July 20). According to sources, at least eight Congress MLAs would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today. Assembly elections are set to take place in Manipur next year.

Konthoujam was the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party of the MPCC and a six-time elected Congress MLA from the Bishnupur Assembly Constituency. He was appointed as the president of the MPCC by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in December last year. He was a former Cabinet minister in Manipur.

Sharda Devi was also named president of the BJP’s Manipur state last month. She took over for Saikhom Tikendra Singh, who died in May of COVID-19.

Elections to the 60-member Manipur state assembly are set to take place next year. In the last assembly elections held in 2017, the Congress party won 28 seats and the BJP 21 seats. The Congress, which won most of the seats, was unable to form a government. However, the state parties, the NPF and the NPP, The BJP, with support, formed the regime. Subsequently, Congress MLAs joined the BJP.

At present, the BJP has 25 MLAs in the Manipur Assembly and the Congress has 17 MLAs. Meanwhile, Manipur state Congress committee president Govindas resigned today (July 20) ahead of next year’s assembly elections. Also, 8 more Congress MLAs are united with the BJP in the BJP today. Thus the Congress leadership is in shock.

(with inputs from Dinamalar)

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Kunal Shrestha, a Class 4 student from Imphal in Manipur has made the headlines after a video of him playing football with one limb went viral on social media. He belongs to a family that sells popsicles and snacks in their locality. While assisting them, he used to often chance upon ‘nobab’, the Chinese grapefruit, that he used to kick around. This developed a penchant for the sport in him. His parents reported that even as a kid, he had always shown interest in football more than cartoons.

Kunal was born with a single limb, which had, for a long time, been the cause of worry for his parents. But his mother had never wanted him to feel different from the other kids and said that Kunal had himself always been a kid with a high self esteem. She said that he had even learnt to ride a bicycle on his own.

Speaking to ANI, Kunal said, “I love playing football. Initially, I faced problems in balancing, I was scared but now I have gained confidence. My friends support me a lot. I hope I will score a goal soon.”

Kunal went on to say that his inspiration was Ajay Chhetri from Bengaluru FC, who is from the same area as Kunal, which is Kanglatongbi.

I love playing football. Initially, I faced problems in balancing, I was scared but now I have gained confidence. My friends support me a lot. I hope I will score a goal soon: Kunal Shrestha from Imphal, Manipur. https://t.co/PoQ0HIbBP3 pic.twitter.com/JSQP28MQBR

— ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2020

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In Manipur, a 12-year-old boy, Issac Paulallungmaun, has secured 72 percent in Manipur high school leaving certificate (HSLC) exam thus becoming the first 12-year-old child to appear and clear the High School Leaving Certificate examination in the first division.

He got special permission from the Board of Secondary Education Manipur to appear for the HSLC exam conducted in February-March, 2020. As per rules, the Manipur BSEM exam allows only those who have completed 15-years of age; however, Issac was given permission as a “special case” after his father wrote to the education department seeking permission last year. He is now the youngest to appear for such an exam and come out with distinction.

Before giving permission a psychological test was conducted on him by the Department of Clinical Psychology, RIMS, Imphal. The boy secured an astonishing grade with an IQ of 141. The test showed that the mental health of the boy is 17 years 5 months and he had superior intellectual and development functioning.

As per the PTI reports Issac is an admirer of Sir Issac Newton because as he shares is name also thinks that he is like him.

Post results the boy said, “Results were a bit lower than I expected. I want to study Zoology and Paleontology as my interest is in animals. We must always believe in ourselves.”

Issac is eldest among all and is a resident of Kangvai in Churachandpur.

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In a heart-warming incident, Laibi Oinam, an auto driver in Manipur, took the initiative to make sure a recovered girl patient reaches her home by driving over 100 km.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh rewarded her for the exemplary act shown by her.

As per reports, a 21-year girl was discharged on recovering from COVID-19, from Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) and was trying to get transportation to reach her home in Kamjong District. Though an ambulance was provided, it denied crossing the district and dropping her at her home.

Fortunately, Oinam came forward to help and she, along with her husband took the girl to her village in Kamjong District Manipur. The 8 hour journey started on the intervening night between 31^st May and 1^st June. Both Laibi and her husband were kept in quarantine centres as they travelled with the just recovered girl.

Praising the efforts of Laibi, who was knowing that the girl is just recovered patient, the CM called her and handed over a cash reward of ₹1,10,00. Reports say that the amount was sponsored by some entrepreneurs from Manipur and some Manipuri diasporas from different countries as an encouragement for Oinam’s bravery and humane service.

Singh also tweeted about her exemplified hard work and “service above self”.

Glad to honour and hand over a cash reward of Rs.1,10,000 to Smt Laibi Oinam, a auto driver from Pangei who took the trouble to take the discharged girl from JNIMS covering 8 hours journey to Kamjong on midnight of May 31. She truly exemplifies hard work and “service above self.” pic.twitter.com/oFwgcx0Kyz

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) June 11, 2020

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Leirum Phee, the traditional cloth of Manipur popularized by Prime Minister Modi has found a new lease of life as ‘Modi Gamcha’ the demand for which has been on the rise ever since the Prime Minister started wearing it as a facemask in the wake of COVID19. Since then, there has been a mass production of the cloth in UP which has raised concerns in Manipur.

The Economic Times had tweeted a video in which weavers from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh were seen producing the cloth to be sold in e-commerce platforms.

PM #Modi ‘#gamcha’ becomes a game changer for #weavers in rural area pic.twitter.com/s5CrJwv4uY

— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) May 30, 2020

Many twitter users from the north-east had expressed their displeasure over the same saying that it puts the livelihood of Manipuri Women at risk.

https://twitter.com/chekla/status/1266626755651145730

The Director Handloom and Textiles Department of Manipur K Lamlee Kamei has requested the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles to take steps to safeguard Manipur’s traditional cloth and the livelihood of local weavers.

Mr. Kamei has written to the Ministry of Textiles regarding the same saying that the ‘Leirum Phee’ designed as ‘Lengyan’ or muffler has cultural, historical and emotional value, the Hindustan Times reported.  Civil bodies of Manipur, like the ACOAM-Lup, Kangleipak, AMESCO, and HERICOUN, among others, have criticized the government of Manipur for not taking steps to get GI tag for the traditional ‘muffler.’

However, it was reported that the department has started the process of getting GI tag for Leirum Phee.

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