Mirabai Chanu, 10 Other Top Athletes Write To Centre Over Manipur Crisis

Eleven sports personalities from Manipur, including Olympians, have written to Home Minister Amit Shah, urging him to find a solution to the ongoing crisis in the state. Olympic medalist Mirabai Chanu is among those who have signed the letter and warned they would return their awards and medals if "peace and normalcy" are not restored at the earliest.

The signatories of the letter - Padma Award winner weightlifter Kunjarani Devi, former Indian woman football team captain Bem Bem Devi and Boxer L Sarita Devi among others - have also demanded the unblocking of the National Highway-2.

"The National Highway-2 has been blocked for weeks at several locations resulting in price rise of essential commodities... So, kindly unblock the highway at the earliest," is one of the eight demands mentioned in the letter.

Kunjarani Devi, one of the most decorated women weightlifters in India, only has one message for the government: "We want peace".

"Take everything from us, but give us peace, we want peace.  The way a person is living their life in Delhi or Mumbai, we want a like that. I want to tell (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi ji that we want nothing but peace," she said.

“We have won laurels for the country. Meiteis have immensely contributed to the sports field. Even after that, we feel we have no respect in anyone's eyes. If our demands are not met, we will return the medals," said boxer L Sarita Devi.

Amit Shah, who is on a four-day visit to Manipur, had consultations with various stakeholders, including cabinet ministers and civil society organisations, as part of his efforts to bring lasting peace to the violence-hit state. This is his first visit to the northeastern state since the ethnic clashes began earlier this month.

Mr Shah arrived in Imphal last night and met Chief Minister N Biren Singh, some cabinet ministers, officials and a few political leaders. Today, he had a breakfast meeting with a group of women leaders and a separate meeting with prominent personalities.

He also held another meeting with a delegation of civil society organisations as part of his outreach and they expressed their commitment to peace and assured that they would work to restore normalcy in Manipur.

"Had a fruitful discussion with the members of the different Civil Society Organisations today in Imphal. They expressed their commitment to peace and assured that we would together contribute to paving the way to restore normalcy in Manipur," he said in a tweet.

The ethnic violence between the Meiteis, who live in and around Imphal valley, and the Kuki tribe, who are settled in the hills, over the Meiteis' demand to be included under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category has claimed over 80 lives since clashed started on May 3.