Why was the ongoing conflict in Manipur called 'racial violence'?
Why was the ongoing conflict in Manipur called 'racial violence'?The ethnic violence that started in Manipur in May 2023 gripped the entire state. The Meitei community and the Kuki-Jo tribes got embroiled in a violent conflict against each other, which gradually spread throughout the state. When the government failed to control the growing tension and violence between the two communities, this conflict took the form of a major racial violence.During the violence, people from both sides lost their lives, properties were burnt, and the lives of countless families were disrupted. The ethnic violence in Manipur is called 'racial violence' because this violence is not limited to conflict between different castes, but it has turned into a conflict in which deep historical, cultural and political differences between two different races (castes) are being data-faced.In this state, when the Meitei community demanded government measures to protect their ethnic identity, the Kuki and naga tribes saw it as a protection of their existence. Thus, while on the one hand the Meitei community was fighting to protect its rights, on the other hand the Kuki and naga tribes saw it as an attack against their cultural identity. This conflict took the form of racial violence because it was not only a fight for material resources, land and rights, but it had also become a question of cultural and racial existence.