India's Modi breaks silence over ethnic violence in Manipur after a video shows mob molesting women

India’s Modi breaks silence over ethnic violence in Manipur after a video shows mob molesting women

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks as he arrives on the opening day of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Modi Thursday broke more than two months of his public silence over the deadly ethnic clashes that have marred the country’s remote northeast Manipur state, a day after a viral video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, sparking outrage across the nation. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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Houses are seen burnt following ethnic clashes and rioting in Sugnu, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Manipur has been reeling under a spree of killings, arson and a rampage of hate after Christian Kukis and mostly Hindu Meiteis began clashing against each other in May. A video that went viral late Wednesday, July 19, is emblematic of the deadly conflict. The video shows two naked women being surrounded by scores of young men who grope their private parts and drag them to a nearby field. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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A Manipur policeman stands guard as members of Meira Paibis, powerful vigilante group of Hindu majority Meitei women, block traffic to check vehicles for members from rival tribal Kuki community, in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Monday, June 19, 2023. India’s prime minister Narendra Modi Thursday, July 20, broke more than two months of his public silence over the deadly ethnic clashes that have marred the country’s remote northeast Manipur state, a day after a viral video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, sparking outrage across the nation. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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The shell of a burnt houses stands following ethnic clashes and rioting in Sugnu, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Manipur has been reeling under a spree of killings, arson and a rampage of hate after Christian Kukis and mostly Hindu Meiteis began clashing against each other in May. A video that went viral late Wednesday, July 19, is emblematic of the deadly conflict. The video shows two naked women being surrounded by scores of young men who grope their private parts and drag them to a nearby field. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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Fortifications made of bamboo in the shape of spears are placed at checkpoint at a de facto frontline dissecting the area into two ethnic zones in Churachandpur, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Deadly clashes, which have left at least 130 dead by the authorities’ conservative estimates, persist despite the army’s presence in the state that now remains divided in two ethnic zones. The two warring factions have also formed armed militias and isolated villages are still raked with gunfire. More than 60,000 people have fled to packed relief camps. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard to enforce curfew in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Monday, June 19, 2023. Deadly clashes, which have left at least 130 dead by the authorities’ conservative estimates, persist despite the army’s presence in the state that now remains divided in two ethnic zones. The two warring factions have also formed armed militias and isolated villages are still raked with gunfire. More than 60,000 people have fled to packed relief camps. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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Members of Meira Paibis, powerful vigilante group of Hindu majority Meitei women, march toward a site of a gunfight in Kangchup, near Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, Jun 22, 2023. A video that went viral late Wednesday, July 19, is emblematic of the deadly conflict in Manipur where ethnic clashes between two communities since May have left more than 130 people dead. The video shows two naked women being surrounded by scores of young men who grope their private parts and drag them to a nearby field. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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Indian Home Minister Amit Shah arrives on the opening day of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi Thursday broke more than two months of his public silence over the deadly ethnic clashes that have marred the country’s remote northeast Manipur state, a day after a viral video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, sparking outrage across the nation. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks to his cabinet colleagues upon arrival on the opening day of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Modi Thursday broke more than two months of his public silence over the deadly ethnic clashes that have marred the country’s remote northeast Manipur state, a day after a viral video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, sparking outrage across the nation. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives on the opening day of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Modi Thursday broke more than two months of his public silence over the deadly ethnic clashes that have marred the country’s remote northeast Manipur state, a day after a viral video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, sparking outrage across the nation. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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A statue of Mahatma Gandhi sits between the old and new Parliament House on the opening day of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi Thursday broke more than two months of his public silence over the deadly ethnic clashes that have marred the country’s remote northeast Manipur state, a day after a viral video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, sparking outrage across the nation. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

By SHEIKH SAALIQ

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke more than two months of public silence over deadly ethnic clashes in India’s northeast, saying Thursday that the assaults of two women as they were being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur state were unforgivable.

A video showing the assaults triggered massive outrage and was widely shared on social media late Wednesday despite the internet being largely blocked and journalists being locked out in the remote state. It shows two naked women surrounded by scores of young men who grope their genitals and drag them to a field.

“The guilty will not be spared. What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” Modi told reporters before a parliamentary session as he made his first public comments related to the Manipur conflict.

Without referring to the violence directly, Modi urged heads of state governments to ensure the safety of women and said the incident was “shameful for any civilized nation.”

“My heart is filled with pain and anger,” he said.

The ethnic violence depicted in the video was emblematic of the near-civil war in Manipur, where mobs rampaged through villages and torched houses, leaving more than 130 people dead since May.

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The conflict was sparked by an affirmative action controversy in which Christian Kukis protested a demand from the mostly Hindu Meiteis for a special status that would let them buy land in the hills populated by Kukis and other tribal groups and get a share of government jobs.

The clashes have persisted despite the army’s presence in Manipur, a state of 3.7 million people tucked in the mountains on India’s border with Myanmar that is now divided in two ethnic zones. The warring factions have also formed armed militias, and isolated villages are still raked with gunfire. More than 60,000 people have fled to packed relief camps.

Police said the assault on the two women happened May 4, a day after the violence started in the state. According to a police complaint filed May 18, the two women were part of a family attacked by a mob that killed its two male members. The complaint alleges rape and murder by “unknown miscreants.”

The state police have made a first arrest in the case, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh said on Twitter, without specifying the number of people who were apprehended.

“A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment. Let it be known, there is absolutely no place for such heinous acts in our society,” Singh said.

India’s Supreme Court, meanwhile, expressed concern over the assault and asked the government to inform the court about the steps it has taken to catch those responsible.

“In a constitutional democracy, it is unacceptable. If the government does not act, we will,” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said.

The victims are from the Kuki-Zo community, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a tribal organization in Manipur. One of them told The Associated Press that the men who assaulted the two women were part of a Meitei mob that had earlier torched their village.

“They forced us to remove our clothes and said we will be killed if we don’t do as told. Then they made us walk naked. They abused us. They touched us everywhere … on our breasts, our genitals,” she said over the phone from Manipur.

The woman said the duo was then led into a field where they were both sexually assaulted. The two women are now safe in a refugee camp.

India’s Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani called the incident “condemnable and downright inhuman.” She said Thursday that investigations were underway and that “no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice.”

India’s main opposition Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, accused the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of “turning democracy and the rule of law into mobocracy.”

Kharge said Modi should speak about Manipur in Parliament, a demand that has been made by other opposition parties and rights activists.

“India will never forgive your silence,” he wrote on Twitter.

Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Indian authorities to take action to stop the violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities, especially Christians. India’s foreign ministry condemned the resolution, describing it as “interference” in its internal affairs.