Manipur relief camps: Right to live before right to vote
IMPHAL: “Why should I vote to elect a representative of a place which is no longer mine ... elections mean nothing to us,” says a distraught Nobi, who lost her home 11 months ago to ethnic violence in Manipur and is living in a relief camp.
The 42-year-old is not alone as “right to live before right to vote” and “peace before polls” was the common refrain of many who have not been able to return home due to recurrent clashes and lingering hostilities between the warring ethnic groups in the northeastern state.
The state has traditionally seen a very high voter turnout with more than 82 per cent polling recorded in the 2019 elections. But the ethnic violence has cast a shadow on the polls this time around with several civil society groups and the affected people questioning the relevance of holding elections in the current circumstances.
“The government hasn’t been able to ensure my right to live with dignity and they are going to ensure my right to vote?” Nobi asks.
“My house was burnt in front of my eyes. Me and my family left overnight. We do not even know what is left there. Why should I vote for the representative of a place which is no longer mine? This is all a gimmick ... Elections mean nothing to us,” Nobi said.
The hill state has witnessed sporadic, sometime intense, ethnic clashes since May 3 between the majority Meitei community and the Kukis, resulting in the loss of more than 200 lives.
While Meiteis have concentrated in Imphal city, the Kukis have shifted to the hills. The elections for two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur will be held in two phases on April 19 and 26. While Inner Manipur and some segments of Outer Manipur will vote in the first phase on April 19, the remaining segments of Outer Manipur will vote in Phase 2 on April 26.
According to officials, more than 50,000 people are living in camps following the unrest. They question the timing of the Lok Sabha elections and say the idea of organising voting in relief camps is nothing but a gimmick as the real issues remain unaddressed.
Media visited four relief camps in the Imphal Valley where the displaced people expressed discontent with the poll process.