A tribal body in India’s strife-torn Manipur has announced a four-day travel advisory for Christians, cautioning them against an impending attack by their rival Hindu group. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) on Sept. 24 urged Kuki-Zo tribal Christians in the hilly state in north-eastern India not to venture out of their areas as the Hindu Meitei commu-nity may launch an attack between Sept. 26 and 29. The ITLF has put all village volunteers on high alert, especially in its stronghold in Churachandpur district, where tribal students started a riot 16 months ago. The tribal body also announ-ced the closure of schools, other institu-tions and offices from Sept. 27-29 and a total shutdown on Sept. 28. In a statement on Sept. 24, ITLF said the Manipur gov-ernment recently accumulated highly advanced Medium Machine Gun (MMG) MK 2A1 weapons, and state security advi-sor Kuldiep Singh hinted at an impending “attack” on Sept. 28. “Previously, an assault on Kuki-Zo occurred shortly after the Manipur government issued a warning of an attack by 200 Kuki militants,” it noted. “This is their strategy to target us. They use the media to blame the Kuki-Zo for everything and Meitei militants attack us,” a Church leader who did not want to be named told on Sept. 25.
He said if the government has infor-mation about an impending attack by Kuki militants why not check them. “This announcement is a smokescreen to target us,” he added. We need to be cautious as the state government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party is backing the Meiteis. “Mani-pur Chief Minister N Biren Singh is a Meitei himself,” added the Church leader. Singh has accused Christians of a role in the narcotic trade because many among them have ethnic and family ties in neighbouring Myanmar.