Separating Kukis, Meiteis Geographically Against Idea Of India: Cong Manipur Candidate Bimol Akoijam

Separating Kukis and Meiteis geographically in violence-hit Manipur in name of “safety” is against the “very idea” of India and should be condemned left, right and centre, said Congress’ Lok Sabha poll candidate A Bimol Akoijam.

An associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Social Sciences, Akoijam asserted that as long as the two communities continue to be citizens of the country, they will have to live and work together.

The comments by Akoijam, 57, came amid demands by the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur for a separate administration. Equating the violence in Manipur to “Rwanda-like ethnic conflict”, Akoijam alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre and in the state has deliberately allowed the situation to aggravate in the state and claimed that there is some purpose behind it.

“The kind of situation we are seeing…we don’t believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India…it almost sounds like an ethnic conflict like those happen in Rwanda for instance, this has been allowed to happen for so long…so returning back to normal life will take long, long time,” he told .