Kuki Inpi dismay over SC Panel on unclaimed bodies, urges to reconsider its stances

The Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki tribes articulated its disappointment over the Supreme Court Panel advising Manipur Govt to identify dead bodies and dispose of unclaimed bodies respectfully and urged the committee to reconsider its stances looking into the ground reality, the practicality and the actual problems hindering the identification and claiming of the dead bodies.

A three-member committee constituted by the Supreme Court to look into the violence in Manipur had recently advised the Manipur government to publish a list of those who have died, and if no one comes to claim the bodies, to dispose of them in a “respectable manner.”

Drawing the attention of the three-member committee and the central government, the Kuki Inpi Manipur said that first and foremost, it is pertinent to recognize that the state of Manipur has been clearly separated on ethnic lines.

Janghaolun Haokip, the Information and Publicity Secretary of the apex of the Kuki tribes said that in fact, the impracticality of a Kuki-Zo traveling to a Meitei-dominated area and vice versa is an open secret that belittles the Committee's advisory itself and therefore, any effort to identify and claim dead bodies amidst the unprecedented conflict in the state, except by a powerful committee deputed by the central government would not only be futile but senseless.

He continued that it is not a secret that various Kuki-Zo organizations have consistently requested the central government for the dead bodies of the Kuki-Zo people to be transported to their native places so that a proper funeral could be held for the deceased while adding that it is therefore imperative that the central government should ensure that the mortal remains of the Kuki-Zo people, who were killed by the Meiteis in collusion with the state government, be transported back to their native places so that a proper funeral in a respectable manner could be held for the Kuki-Zo victims.

While strongly condemning the alleged utterly deplorable conditions under which the mortal remains of the Kuki-Zo victims are being kept in the Hospital morgues at Imphal, especially at RIMS and JNIMS, Haokip said that it is important to realize that the "dignity of the dead" is not only a human right but also a constitutional right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Subsequently, the intention of the Meitei Civil Society Organisations, spearheaded by the Meira Paibis to foil any attempt to transport the dead bodies to their native places by guarding hospital morgues is highly confounding and disturbing, he added.

He also said that having stated the grave concerns, the Kuki Inpi Manipur appealed to the Committee and any other central authorities concerned to look into the ground reality, the practicality, and the actual problems hindering the identification and claiming of the dead bodies.

He said that the Kuki-Zo people are now only hoping to perform the final rites for our beloved brethren who have fallen victim to the brutality and insanity of the Meiteis.