One killed in latest outbreak of ethnic violence in India

At least one person has been killed and two injured in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur.

Dozens have died and thousands have been displaced in weeks of conflict. Authorities imposed a curfew and shut down the internet in an effort to control the violence.

Fighting broke out on May 3 between two ethnic groups, the largely Hindu Meiteis and the Kukis, who are mostly Christians, over a contentious government proposal to list the majority Meitei community as a tribe.

The designation offers added benefits such as reserved quotas for government jobs.

On Wednesday, suspected militants shot dead a refugee and injured two others in the town of Bishnupur, police said.

Arson and violence were also reported in the nearby Imphal West district. One person was shot and injured in the finger and thigh, said Manipur security adviser Kuldeep Singh.

Authorities sent in soldiers and police forces to control the violence and cancelled plans to relax the curfew.

Police said a mob had attacked and vandalised the house of a state minister in Imphal West, while several homes belonging to rival ethnic groups were also targeted in the district.

State legislators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party were due to meet Home Minister Amit Shah in the city of Guwahati, in neighbouring Assam state, on Thursday.

Manipur is a mountainous region bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh.

About 34 ethnic tribes, making up 40 per cent of the population, have traditionally inhabited the highland areas that comprise 90 per cent of the land.

The Meiteis, who form more than half of the population, dominate the valley areas, confined to 10 per cent of the land.

They have long demanded their community be included in the tribe list to access land rights and job benefits, and match the status of others.

But opposing tribes, such as the Kukis, claim that the Meiteis already dominate the demographic, political and social landscape of the state.

At least 60 people have died and 35,000 from both groups have been forced to flee villages to army camps after their homes were burnt down.

More than a dozen of Manipur’s 16 districts are affected.