People from Manipur living in Kolkata gathered on Sunday evening at Salt Lake to pray for a return to peace in their violence-hit home state.
Around 50 people, including men and women both, held a candle-light vigil in front of the Manipur Bhavan building at Salt Lake under the banner of ‘Manipuri in Kolkata’ an umbrella organisation of people from the state living in the city. The gathering prayed for the restoration of peace and communal harmony in Manipur, which has been hit by ethnic violence that has left over 50 people dead since the evening of 3 May.
Roshan Khumukcham, vice president of Manipuri in Kolkata, said the organisation is also taking steps informally to ensure that no conflict arises among the communities from Manipur living in the city. He said that during the meeting, it was made clear that the issues that gave rise to the violence were constitutional in nature, and not primarily communal.
Mr Khumukcham urged the Central and Manipur governments to take necessary steps to resolve the underlying issues and restore peace to the state. Earlier, Manipuri In Kolkata issued a statement expressing anguish at the events in Manipur that have resulted in innumerable loss of precious lives, loss of honour and dignity, loss of property, and regretting the destruction of the fine social fabric which have been built over thousands of years based on mutual trust, respect and co-existence.
The statement said MIK shares the pain and stands in solidarity with all those who have suffered in this difficult time. “MIK sincerely believe that, these happenings are just a temporary aberration in our glorious history & we would very soon return to normalcy. We are fully committed in finding a way forward & a solution to build a progressive, all inclusive Manipur,” the statement said.