After months of anguished waiting and uncertainty, the long-due airlifting of 60 bodies from Imphal's morgues stands as a poignant culmination in the ongoing saga of ethnic violence in Manipur. The bodies, held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) and Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), were finally transported via helicopters to Kangpokpi and Churachandpur, marking a crucial step towards closure for the families of the victims.
The Supreme Court's November 28 order for the dignified disposal of unclaimed bodies set the wheels in motion for this momentous transition. Representing the Kuki community, organisations facilitated the transfer, with 41 bodies transported to Churachandpur and the remaining 19 to Motbung in Kangpokpi.
A spokesperson from the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), active in Kangpokpi, outlined the arrangements for the final rites at the martyrs’ memorial cemetery near Motbung, scheduled for the following day. Similarly, Ginza Vualzong from the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) in Churachandpur shared plans for the eventual last rites of the bodies in their custody, tentatively scheduled for the upcoming week.
The decision on the date and location of the burials for the bodies transported to Churachandpur remains pending, underscoring the delicate nature of this process, governed by the need for dignity and respect for the deceased.
The Supreme Court's intervention prompted the state government to issue notifications to the families of the victims, urging them to claim the bodies for proper last rites at designated locations.
Of the 169 identified bodies listed by the Manipur government, a distressing 88 remained unclaimed across various medical facilities. Strikingly, all unclaimed bodies belonged to the Kuki community. While a fraction—approximately four to five—of the claimed bodies were of Kukis, the majority pertained to the Meitei community.
The somber reality reflected a stark gap between the number of victims and the bodies recovered, as articulated by the COTU office bearer, expressing concern over the discrepancy between recorded victims from Kangpokpi and the bodies retrieved.
Manipur's painful unrest, driven by clashes between the dominant Meitei and the tribal Kukis, has taken a staggering toll—195 lives lost and approximately 50,000 displaced. This recent act of airlifting the unclaimed bodies signifies a heart-rending chapter's closure in Manipur's strife-torn history.
