“People in Manipur want peace,” Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Chairperson of the National Commission of Minorities (NCM), said on October 12. He added that the NCM had conducted multiple meetings with all groups from the conflict-hit State to ensure that harmony was established.
“But there are four organisations which we couldn’t contact so far and they are yet to come upfront with their demands,” Mr. Lalpura added, without naming the organisations.
The NCM chief, who declined to say if he had visited Manipur since violence broke out in the State in May this year and left at least 175 dead, said that he was in touch with the people of Manipur in Delhi, and had conducted 10 meetings with various groups in the past five months.
“There are 34 peoples’ organisations working in Manipur, which have representatives from the Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas. We are trying that all communities should sit together and end this matter,” Mr. Lalpura said.
He said that infiltration was one of the reasons for prolonging tension in the northeastern State, and maintained that the issue was being escalated due to the involvement of people from outside the State.
Speaking about the violence in Nuh, the NCM Chairperson said that it wasn’t an organised crime.
“The event was disappointing; the whole episode snowballed due to the misuse of social media. We are concerned for the young generation, which get easily influence by social media, [and] participate in violence without giving a second thought. This needs to be controlled,” Mr. Lalpura said.
He also claimed that during the NCM’s inspection at the spot, it was found that a peace meeting had been organised by the district administration a day before the violence, but the officials had failed to gauge the intensity of the issue.
“As they were already aware that something may happen, which is why the peace meeting was called, they should have been very proactive,” he said, adding that the NCM had found Muslims had saved Hindu temples from being destroyed in violence while Hindus and Sikhs saved mosques.
Mr. Lalpura also highlighted the NCM’s recent achievements in matters related to minorities, including providing security to Jain gurus during their travel and stay; resolving the Sammed Shikharji issue; implementation of the Anand Marriage Act in various States and Union Territories; resolving issues faced by Indian Hajjis during their Hajj journey to Medina in Saudi Arabia; and spreading awareness about already existing schemes of the Central government for the welfare of minorities and the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme.
“Sikhs do not intend any separation from India,” the NCM Chairperson said on the subject of Khalistan. “The issue received attention because of the fringe elements involved.”
