"Extraordinary Sad Call": Ex Army Chief On Retired Officer's Manipur Tweet

Former Indian Army chief General VP Malik (retired) has called for "urgent attention" to the situation in Manipur where ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and the Kuki tribe have been going on since May 3.

General Malik, referring to a tweet by a retired senior army officer from Manipur on the bleak situation in the state, tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, asking for "urgent attention at the highest level."

Earlier, Lieutenant General L Nishikanta Singh (retired), a resident of state capital Imphal, tweeted the state is now "stateless", a day after the house of Union Minister RK Ranjan Singh was set on fire by miscreants.

"I'm just an ordinary Indian from Manipur living a retired life. The state is now 'stateless'. Life and property can be destroyed anytime by anyone just like in Libya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria, etc. It appears Manipur has been left to stew in its own juice. Is anyone listening?" Lt General Singh tweeted.

To this, General Malik replied, "An extraordinary sad call from a retired Lt General from Manipur. Law and order situation in Manipur needs urgent attention at highest level."

On May 30, Lt General Singh had said some "300 terrorists" including "lungi-clad ones" from Myanmar have entered Manipur amid the ethnic violence between the Meiteis and the Chin-Kuki people.

Lt General Singh's "lungi-clad" reference was seen as indicating to the involvement of Myanmar border-based insurgents who, like civilians, wear the "longyi", as it is known in the country run by a military junta.

Lt General Singh retired in 2018 after serving in the Indian Army for 40 years. He was also with the Intelligence Corps.

Manipur has been on the boil since May 3, when violence broke out during a rally by Kukis in protest against the Meiteis' demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. The Meiteis are the majority in the valley in and around Imphal, while the Kukis are a majority in the hills.

Home Minister Amit Shah, after returning from a three-day visit in Manipur, had announced a series of measures to bring normalcy. A peace committee formed by the centre hasn't been able to bring the situation under control as both Meitei and Kuki civil society groups don't want to be a part of it.

Tension continues to grip Imphal East as fresh violence erupted at the western side of Palace Compound after miscreants set an abandoned house on fire. Firefighters were able to control the blaze and stop it from spreading to adjacent houses. However, a mob defying the curfew took to the streets and clashed with a joint team of central and state forces. The forces had to fire tear gas to control the situation. A few people were injured, the police said.