Manipur has been embroiled in an ethnic conflict since last May, as tension blisters between the majority Meitei community and the minority Kuki tribe.
New Delhi: The situation in Manipur has become a battle of narratives and it is important to stop the build-up of wrong narratives, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said at an event in New Delhi. He also spoke on two controversial issues linked to the Manipur violence - the alleged burning of a culturally and historically significant public installation of the Kuki tribes on May 3, 2023, and the recent row over a leaked intelligence report that warned of some 900 Kuki militants preparing to enter India from Myanmar via the border in Manipur.
"So as far as the Manipur problem is concerned, it all started in May 2023 with a rumor that there was an Anglo-Kuki war centenary gate, which was being burnt. It was not being burnt. I have gone on the ground and confirmed it with everyone. That rumor-mongering led to major violence, which is yet to be stabilized," General Dwivedi said at the second edition of the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024, a flagship event organized by the Indian Army and the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).
The army chief denied weaponized drones had dropped bombs on civilians, and linked this allegation to what he called a "false narrative". "... There was a narrative of drones dropping bombs. We went on the ground and checked. There was no drone bombing. There was another wrong narrative that said 900 anti-national elements had infiltrated. We checked. There was nothing like that. So if we control that, I think things will be alright," General Dwivedi said.
