Apropos the news article on September 25 with the headline “Dispose unclaimed bodies respectfully if no kin come: SC panel on Manipur” published in the Indian Express, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) has reiterated that it has been asking the central government for the past five months to transport dead bodies belonging to the Kuki-Zo community to tribal areas so that they can be given a proper funeral.
In its press release issued on Monday, ITLF stated that it is a common knowledge that the state has been physically separated along ethnic lines and it is impossible for families to collect the remains of their loved ones on the other side of the divide. Physically coming forward to identify dead bodies is also not possible.
Meanwhile, ITLF has been painstakingly tracing and identifying tribals who were killed by Meitei mobs in the Imphal valley and whose bodies are lying in morgues in the state’s capital.
The tribal forum asserted that the data of dead has been openly shared with government and security officials. And in every talk with the central government, the need to bring back dead bodies has been one of the key points of discussion.
“It is, therefore, the responsibility of the government to transport the bodies to their respective communities. We will give them the respectful burial that they deserve,” ITLF added.
Meanwhile, the Kuki Students’ Organization, General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ), expressed its profound dismay and repugnant regarding the alleged recent order issued by a panel of the Supreme Court of India concerning the disposal of unclaimed bodies.
The KSO-GHQ said it acknowledged the need for a legal framework to address the respectful and dignified disposal of unclaimed bodies. However, the ground reality in the Valley necessitates an urgent reconsideration of the implications of such an alleged order.
“In our region, it has come to our attention that the majority of unclaimed bodies in local morgues belong to the Kuki-Zo community. Regrettably, the current State of affairs make it impossible for Kuki-Zo community members to access the Valley, vice-versa to the valley community. This geographical divide significantly hampers the identification and transportation of the deceased by any CSOs,” KSO said in its statement issued on Monday.
The KSO-GHQ fervently appealed to the Central government to take few actions such as to return all the dead bodies to their respective Districts, and dead bodies that have been identified and are confirmed should be sent back to their respective districts with the utmost urgency. It also urged that identification Procedures must be established in a robust system to ascertain the identity of unclaimed bodies for those yet to be identified.
Our organization has consistently and persistently urged the Government to address this issue. Regrettably, these appeals have yielded no positive response.
“In the absence of government action and with the limitations on the movement for both the communities, the Supreme Court’s order appears impractical and insensitive to the ground realities. We firmly believe that it is in the best interest of all parties involved to reconsider this order,” KSO added.
On behalf of the deceased families, it called upon the concerned authorities to reconsider their stance with compassion and understanding in public interest.
