Editor's Pick: Law and order has failed in Manipur, says Union Minister from State

Violence continued in Manipur on Thursday as a mob torched the Imphal residence of the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Mr. Singh said that law and order had totally failed in Manipur. Despite receiving help from the Centre, the State government could not control the situation, he said. Mr. Singh’s house, located at Kongba Nandeibam Leikai in the Imphal East district, was attacked by a mob around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday. Cars and two-wheelers parked in the compound were set ablaze, and the outhouse was completely gutted. The Minister, who was in Kochi at the time, said he had built the house with his hard-earned money and was shocked at the turn of events. “This was the second time my house was attacked; the first time I had managed to convince the attackers. Crowds of people surrounded the house and they even blocked the fire tenders from coming... I did not expect this kind of incident from my fellow citizens,” he told a news agency in Kochi. Mr. Singh insisted that it was not a communal incident. “If this was something religious, then I am a Hindu. The attackers were Hindus. So, this is not religious. This is a mob,” he told PTI. “We are trying to bring normalcy and peace in the State by speaking to various stakeholders. Home Minister Amit Shah ji called and spoke to me,” he said. In another incident, an intermittent exchange of fire was reported at Phoubakchao in Bishnupur district on Thursday afternoon, with the firing continuing till 3 a.m. on Friday. No one was killed in the incident. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh told reporters in Imphal that if the Mizoram government does not control some organisations which are demanding a separate administration in Manipur, the relationship between the two States will be strained. Meanwhile, over 550 civil society groups, retired bureaucrats and police officers, activists, lawyers, filmmakers, journalists, academics and writers have come together to issue a public statement, calling for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence over the unabated ethnic violence in Manipur. The signatories to the statement include Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha, two former IPS officers, a retired civil servant, and a plethora of civil society and human rights groups such as the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Human Rights Forum, People’s Union for Democratic Rights, and several other farmers, labourers, workers and women’s rights groups. The statement called for the PM to break his silence and “take accountability” for the situation in the State. “Manipur is burning today in very large part due to the divisive politics played by the BJP and its governments at the Centre and State. And on them lies the onus to stop this ongoing civil war before more lives are lost,” the statement said. The activists and civil society groups sought a court-monitored probe to the violence. The Union government had set up a peace committee headed by the Governor in early June but many members, belonging to both Kuki and Meitei groups, refused to join it. With no let-up in the violence, an editorial in The Hindu pointed out that it’s perhaps time for the Union government and the ruling BJP to think of an alternative leadership that could ease the process of peace building as Mr. Biren Singh’s actions have not been effective. The Hindu’s Editorials Shifting sands: On India’s external trade performance Mounting tensions: On the threat to social harmony in Uttarakhand The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which of the following noted actresses starred alongside Shirley MacLaine in 1961’s Children’s Hour, centred on a damaging rumour and reckoning with sexuality? Ingrid Bergman Audrey Hepburn Judy Garland Katherine Hepburn To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 17 June 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Law and order has failed in Manipur: Union Minister from State Violence continued in Manipur on Thursday as a [mob torched the Imphal residence]( of the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Mr. Singh said that law and order had totally failed in Manipur. Despite receiving help from the Centre, the State government could not control the situation, he said. Mr. Singh’s house, located at Kongba Nandeibam Leikai in the Imphal East district, was attacked by a mob around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday. Cars and two-wheelers parked in the compound were set ablaze, and the outhouse was completely gutted. The Minister, who was in Kochi at the time, said he had built the house with his hard-earned money and was shocked at the turn of events. “This was the second time my house was attacked; the first time I had managed to convince the attackers. Crowds of people surrounded the house and they even blocked the fire tenders from coming... I did not expect this kind of incident from my fellow citizens,” he told a news agency in Kochi. Mr. Singh insisted that it was not a communal incident. “If this was something religious, then I am a Hindu. The attackers were Hindus. So, this is not religious. This is a mob,” he told PTI. “We are trying to bring normalcy and peace in the State by speaking to various stakeholders. Home Minister Amit Shah ji called and spoke to me,” he said. In another incident, an intermittent exchange of fire was reported at Phoubakchao in Bishnupur district on Thursday afternoon, with the firing continuing till 3 a.m. on Friday. No one was killed in the incident. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh told reporters in Imphal that if the Mizoram government does not control some organisations which are demanding a separate administration in Manipur, the relationship between the two States will be strained. Meanwhile, over 550 civil society groups, retired bureaucrats and police officers, activists, lawyers, filmmakers, journalists, academics and writers have come together to issue a public statement, calling for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence over the unabated ethnic violence in Manipur. The signatories to the statement include Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha, two former IPS officers, a retired civil servant, and a plethora of civil society and human rights groups such as the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Human Rights Forum, People’s Union for Democratic Rights, and several other farmers, labourers, workers and women’s rights groups. The statement called for the PM to break his silence and “take accountability” for the situation in the State. “Manipur is burning today in very large part due to the divisive politics played by the BJP and its governments at the Centre and State. And on them lies the onus to stop this ongoing civil war before more lives are lost,” the statement said. The activists and civil society groups sought a court-monitored probe to the violence. The Union government had set up a [peace committee headed by the Governor]( in early June but many members, belonging to both Kuki and Meitei groups, refused to join it. With no let-up in the violence, an [editorial in The Hindu]( out that it’s perhaps time for the Union government and the ruling BJP to think of an alternative leadership that could ease the process of peace building as Mr. Biren Singh’s actions have not been effective. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Shifting sands: On India’s external trade performanceÂ]( [Arrow][Mounting tensions: On the threat to social harmony in Uttarakhand]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which of the following noted actresses starred alongside Shirley MacLaine in 1961’s Children’s Hour, centred on a damaging rumour and reckoning with sexuality? - Ingrid Bergman - Audrey Hepburn - Judy Garland - Katherine Hepburn To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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