“79 days too late”: Outrage across India as video of sexual assault exposes violence in Manipur

As a shocking and graphic video of two women being paraded naked and brutalized in the State of Manipur became viral in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed reporters for less than a minute on Thursday, July 20, condemning the incident.

Modi said he was “full of pain and anger” and promised that the law will act with its “full might and firmness”, yet this condemnation was criticized by many as being too little too late. Political parties and civil society members pointed out that his comments came 79 days after the incident took place.

The video showed two women being paraded naked down the street by a lynch mob, and according to reports at least one of them was brutally gang raped. The incident occurred on May 4, at the very outset of ethnic and religious clashes in the northeastern State of Manipur.

The women were from the Kuki community, an ethnically tribal group from southern Manipur, and the mob consisted of Meiteis, an ethno-linguistic group of people mainly residing in the Imphal Valley. Imphal is the capital of Manipur.

The ongoing violence which broke out in early May between Meiteis and the Kukis has so far claimed over 150 lives and displaced tens of thousands across the State. Houses and places of worship have also been burnt down.

The State government, led by N Biren Singh of Modi’s own right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is alleged to have acted in favor of Meitei rioters and lynch mobs, with few arrests recorded of perpetrators of violence from the community.

Prime Minister Modi had been conspicuously silent on the violence in Manipur until the video emerged. His senior ministers had also remained quiet. Just hours before Modi’s comments, the Supreme Court harshly criticized the State and the Central governments for such prolonged inaction.

The opposition takes to the streets denouncing government inaction 

Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud demanded that the Court be apprised of the steps taken to hold perpetrators of the violence accountable. “The visuals which are portrayed in the media would indicate reflects (sic) gross constitutional violations and infraction of human rights,” said Justice Chandrachud in his remarks on Thursday.

“Using women as instruments to perpetrate violence in a charged atmosphere is simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy,” he added.

The surfacing of the video led to large-scale protests across the country. Opposition parties, including left parties, and human rights organizations continue to take to the streets in different parts of the country demanding swift action against the perpetrators and an end to the violence in Manipur. 

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, tweeted questioning Modi’s reasoning on the issue and said that, “the issue is not that of shame for the country. The issue is the immense pain and trauma inflicted on the women of Manipur. Stop the violence immediately.”  

On Friday and Saturday, the left-wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), carried out all-India protests with large scale participation in States such as Kerala. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has announced fresh protests to be held on July 27 to condemn the violence. 

Meanwhile, opposition parties demanded a discussion on the issue in the ongoing session of the Indian parliament. The government, however, has been reluctant to do so, leading to disruptions of regular business and adjournments in sessions on two consecutive working days on Friday and Monday. 

On Saturday, scores of women’s rights groups in India, including the All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), issued a joint statement condemning the role of the State government and the National Commission of Women (NCW) for their failure to take appropriate action on time. They also demanded the resignation of the chairperson of the NCW alleging her to be “deliberately ignoring and suppressing” the atrocious attack on two tribal women. They accused that the NCW “has misused its office, besmirched its own position, and betrayed the trust of women’s movement in the country had reposed upon it.”   

Following the large-scale public outcry over the issue, Manipur police finally claimed to have arrested by Sunday four of the perpetrators from the incident.