Manipur is a state in northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanmar, Sagaing Region to the east and Chin State to the south. The state covers an area of 22,327 km2 (8,621 sq mi). The official and most widely spoken language is the Meitei language. Native to the Meitei people, it is also used as a lingua franca by smaller communities, who speak a variety of other Tibeto-Burman languages. Manipur has been at the crossroads of Asian economic and cultural exchange for more than 2,500 years. This exchange connects the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia to Southeast Asia, East Asia, Siberia, regions in the Arctic, Micronesia and Polynesia enabling migration of people, cultures and religions.
Meitei, also known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and one of the official languages India. Meitei is the most widely-spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and third the most used language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali. There are 1.76 million Meitei native speakers in India according to the 2011 census. Most of these, or 1.52 million, are found in the state of Manipur, where they represent majority of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500). The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Meitei people, Meetei, Manipuri people is an ethnic group native to Manipur. They form the largest and dominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They speak the Meitei language, one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic and the sole official language of Government of Manipur. The Meiteis primarily settled in the valley areas in modern-day Manipur, though a sizeable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. There is also a notable presence of Meitei people in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53% of Manipur's population.
The Bombay riots were a series of riots that took place in Bombay, Maharashtra, between December 1992 and January 1993. An estimated 900 people, predominantly Muslims, were killed. The riots were mainly due to escalations of hostilities after large scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsevaks in Ayodhya; and by Hindus in regards with the Ram Temple issue.
The Meitei Pangals, also known as Meitei Muslims or the Manipuri Muslims, are a group of Meitei Muslims. They live mainly in Manipur. The word Pangal simply means Muslim in the Meitei language. Various historical sources have different dates for when Islam first entered Manipur. However, the date all sources seem to confirm as definitive is 1606 AD. The origin of the Pangal community is equally varied.
Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba (1788–1834), also known as Raja Gambhir Singh, was a ruler of the Manipur Kingdom.
Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and Muslims.
The 2010 Deganga riots occurred at Deganga, North 24 Parganas in West Bengal, India on 6 September 2010 between local Muslim and Hindu community over a disputed land. The violence began late in the evening of that Monday and continued throughout the night and for several subsequent days. The district police, Rapid Action Force, paramilitary were all unable to quell the problems and the Indian Army was eventually deployed. The army staged a series of flag marches on the Taki Road but the violence continued in the interior villages lying off that road until Thursday, despite the army presence and the promulgation of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Military Commanders on approval by the state Government imposed AFSPA.
In July 2012, violence in the Indian state of Assam broke out with riots between indigenous Bodos and Bengali Muslims in the Bodoland region of North East, India. The first incident was reported to have taken place on 20 July 2012. At least 108 people died and over 400,000 people were displaced into 270 relief camps, after being displaced from almost 400 villages. Eleven people have been reported missing.
The 1980 Moradabad riots, also known as the Moradabad Muslim Massacre, refers to violence that happened in the Indian city of Moradabad during August–November 1980. When a pig entered the local Idgah during the Eid festival prayer on 13 August, local Muslims asked the police to remove the pig, but the police refused to do so. This led to a confrontation between the police and the Muslims. The police responded with indiscriminate firing, which led to over one hundred deaths. This was followed by a series of violent incidents which became religious in nature, and led to arson, looting and murders.
The 1985 Gujarat riots began in February 1985 and lasted till August, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Most of the rioting occurred in the city of Ahmedabad; some other cities, including the state capital of Gandhinagar, were also affected. Between 220 and 275 people were killed in the violence, while several thousands of others were injured, and tens of thousands were displaced. The riots also caused widespread property damage.
The clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India in August–September 2013, resulted in deaths of atleast 98 Muslims and 21 Jats and injured 93 and left more than 50,000 people displaced. By date 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn.
There have been several instances of religious violence against Muslims since the partition of India in 1947, frequently in the form of violent attacks on Muslims by Hindu nationalist mobs that form a pattern of sporadic sectarian violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Over 10,000 people have been killed in Hindu-Muslim communal violence since 1950 in 6,933 instances of communal violence between 1954 and 1982.
The Insurgency in Manipur is an ongoing armed conflict between India and a number of separatist rebel groups, taking place in the state of Manipur. The Insurgency in Manipur is part of the wider Insurgency in Northeast India; it displays elements of a national liberation war as well as an ethnic conflict.
The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and brought about chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims who were shot, slashed with repeated blows, or set on fire. The dead also included over a dozen Hindus, who were shot or assaulted. More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded were languishing in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains. By mid-March many Muslims had remained missing.
Editors Guild of India (EGI) is a non-profit organisation of journalists, particularly the Editors, based in India. The organization has declared "objectives of protecting press freedom and for raising the standards of editorial leadership of newspapers and magazines". It was founded in 1978, by Kuldip Nayar. EGI has represented Indian newspapers in communications to the government.
Rama Navami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Rama. It falls on the 9th day of the Chaitra month every year in the Hindu calendar, usually during the months of March–April. At least since 1979, if not earlier, This festival often involves processions of Hindu worshipers through cities, including Muslim-majority regions. These displays, often considered provocative, have repeatedly led to violence between Hindu and Muslim communities. Scholar Paul Brass states that Rama himself has been turned into a political emblem of the RSS family of organisations, and the Rama Navami processions are "led by or turned into provocative displays" by Hindutva organisations such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. However, he fails to mention that Ram Navami processions were common in India, and other parts of the world where Hindus reside. These processions occurred much before VHP and Bajrang Dal even existed.
On 3 May 2023, ethnic violence erupted in India's north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo tribal community from the surrounding hills. According to government figures, as of 28 February 2024, 219 people have been killed in the violence and 60,000 people have been displaced. Earlier figures also mentioned over 1,000 injured, and 32 missing. 4,786 houses were burnt and 386 religious structures were vandalized, including temples and churches. Unofficial figures are higher.
Arambai Tenggol is a Meitei activist organisation in the Indian state of Manipur, often described as a radical organisation, or as a radicalised armed militia. It is also a revivalist organisation that aims to reestablish the pre-Hindu, native Sanamahi religion among the Meiteis. It enjoys the patronage of Manipur's titular king and parliamentarian Leishemba Sanajaoba as well as the chief minister N. Biren Singh. During the 2023–2024 Manipur violence, members of the Kuki-Zo community blamed it for having carried out deadly attacks against them. In January 2024, the organisation demonstrated its influence by summoning all the elected Meitei legislators of the state for a meeting to deliberate on the defence of Meiteis in the prevailing conflict.
