As Manipur continues to simmer over ethnic clashes, a group of students of Manipur University remember the day they escaped from the clutches of a violent mob which stormed inside the girls' hostel with sticks and rods.
The students recalled how a mob of 40 men climbed the walls and entered the hostel premises on May 3, set vehicles on fire and even pelted stones at windows before breaking down the main gate. "We came across a viral video in the evening of May 3 which left us deeply worried. We started locking doors, window shutters and the main hostel gate. One of our seniors suddenly noticed a mob climbing the walls and entering the premises. As suggested by her, I kept all my documents and laptop in a bag and rushed to the first floor," Kimjolly Touthang, a research scholar at the varsity, told PTI.
Touthang, who is currently residing with her relatives in Delhi, said the girls started hiding in groups in bathrooms as they heard the mob breaking the doors of their rooms. "The mob broke the hostel gate and entered the building. We could hear them breaking the doors of our rooms on the ground floor and moving towards the first floor. We got so scared that we were hiding in groups inside the bathrooms," she said. More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki community people in Manipur that broke out a month ago. The state has imposed a curfew on 11 districts and banned the internet in a bid to stop the spread of rumours in the state.
Clashes first broke out on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Another student, who also fled from the varsity on the fateful day, said, "One of the men who was part of the mob was knocking on the bathroom doors as he understood that we were hiding inside. He called the rest of the men and broke the door. They dragged us out and asked for our identity cards. The girls who were hiding with me were all from the Meitei community, while I belong to the Kuki community." Touthang said while the men checked the identity cards of her hostel inmates who were Meiteis, she managed to dodge the situation. "The mob let the girls go after they checked their identity cards, but they were suspicious that the Meitei girls were helping the Kuki community girls to hide in the hostel," she said.
Another hostel inmate said after the mob left the campus, they contacted the Assam Rifles personnel and moved to the nearest relief camp in the early hours of May 4.
"After the rioters left, we contacted the security personnel to reach the nearest relief camp as soon as possible. We were picked up at around 4 am on May 4," she said.
Most of the students of Manipur University also expressed disappointment over the college administration and claimed no responsibility was taken by it to ensure safety of the students.
"Before our hostel came under attack, we thought Manipur University campus was the safest place for us to be at that point of time. We thought since it is a central university, the premises will be safe. But the administration did nothing to ensure our safety," a student rued.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals - Nagas and Kukis - constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
