Editor's Pick: Police detain 13,000 people in Manipur

In a bid to bring a semblance of law and order in the violence-hit State, the Manipur police have detained over 13,000 people, holding them in preventive custody, and destroyed nearly 290 bunkers over the past fortnight. A police source informed on Sunday that the police have also identified 12 to 14 people who could be seen in a viral video of the sexual violence incident that occurred on May 4 in Thoubal district. Three women were stripped and paraded, and one of them was raped. The video of the incident surfaced on social media last week, provoking outrage across the country and worsening the situation in Manipur. So far, six people have been arrested in the case, including a juvenile, Manipur police said in a tweet. Meanwhile, the police have also continued the binding down of people, a type of detention. However, 80 days after ethnic violence between the Kuki hill tribes and the valley-dwelling Meitei communities erupted in the State on May 3, sporadic incidents of violence continue to be reported. On Saturday night, after a school was burnt down in Churachandpur, the two communities fired at each other intermittently in villages along the border of the Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. Security forces have repeatedly flagged the huge number of weapons and ammunition looted from police armouries that are being used by civilians to fire at each other. The BJP is yet to act on demands for a change of leadership in the state despite the fact that Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s positioning and handling of the situation has been a major source of discontent within communities in the state. Mr. Singh’s reaction to the May 4 violence that he only got to know about the incident after the viral video surfaced is another example. Meanwhile, the Centre’s silence has also drawn criticism. It was only after the video clip of the heinous May 4 crime surfaced, two and a half months after the violence, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence. Mr. Modi, however, is yet to acknowledge the causes and the consequences of the conflict that is threatening to spiral out of control. Besides, that the Supreme Court had to take Suo Motu cognisance of the sexual assault seen in the video is only telling of the government’s failure to restore normalcy in the state. As this editorial in The Hindu points out that while renewed attention on the Manipur conflict has finally led the State government to promise that it will bring the perpetrators to book, the events of the last two and a half months reveal a significant rift between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities. Steps towards reconciliation would require much better leadership. Replacing Mr. Singh with a less controversial leader would allow for civil society representatives from the different ethnicities to begin reconciliation and peace initiatives in earnest. The Hindu’s Editorials Downhill driving: On India’s overall trend of exports Subverting the mandate: On the Thai elections and the military establishment The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz According to the Manipur government, about 2000 non-tribal Meiteis entered which North Eastern state amid the ongoing violence in Manipur? Mizoram Nagaland Assam Tripura To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 24 July 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]( 80 days of Manipur violence | Police detain 13,000 people in the state In a bid to bring a semblance of law and order in the violence-hit State, the Manipur police have [detained over 13,000 people]( holding them in preventive custody, and destroyed nearly 290 bunkers over the past fortnight. A police source informed on Sunday that the police have also identified 12 to 14 people who could be seen in a viral video of the sexual violence incident that occurred on May 4 in Thoubal district. Three women were stripped and paraded, and one of them was raped. The video of the incident surfaced on social media last week, provoking outrage across the country and worsening the situation in Manipur. So far, [six people have been arrested]( in the case, including a juvenile, Manipur police said in a tweet. Meanwhile, the police have also continued the binding down of people, a type of detention. However, 80 days after ethnic violence between the Kuki hill tribes and the valley-dwelling Meitei communities erupted in the State on May 3, sporadic incidents of violence continue to be reported. On Saturday night, after a school was burnt down in Churachandpur, the two communities fired at each other intermittently in villages along the border of the Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. Security forces have repeatedly flagged the huge number of weapons and ammunition looted from police armouries that are being used by civilians to fire at each other. The BJP is yet to act on demands for a change of leadership in the state despite the fact that Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s positioning and handling of the situation has been a major source of discontent within communities in the state. Mr. Singh’s reaction to the May 4 violence that he only got to know about the incident after the viral video surfaced is another example. Meanwhile, the Centre’s silence has also drawn criticism. It was only after the video clip of the heinous May 4 crime surfaced, two and a half months after the violence, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence. Mr. Modi, however, is yet to acknowledge the causes and the consequences of the conflict that is threatening to spiral out of control. Besides, that the Supreme Court had to take Suo Motu cognisance of the sexual assault seen in the video is only telling of the government’s failure to restore normalcy in the state. As [this editorial]( The Hindu points out that while renewed attention on the Manipur conflict has finally led the State government to promise that it will bring the perpetrators to book, the events of the last two and a half months reveal a significant rift between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities. Steps towards reconciliation would require much better leadership. Replacing Mr. Singh with a less controversial leader would allow for civil society representatives from the different ethnicities to begin reconciliation and peace initiatives in earnest. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Downhill driving: On India’s overall trend of exportsÂ]( [Arrow][Subverting the mandate: On the Thai elections and the military establishment]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz According to the Manipur government, about 2000 non-tribal Meiteis entered which North Eastern state amid the ongoing violence in Manipur ? - Mizoram - Nagaland - Assam - Tripura To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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