'Right to live before right to vote, peace before polls': Common refrain in Manipur relief camps

Displaced Manipur residents question relevance of elections amid ethnic violence, loss, and uncertainty in relief camps.

"Why should I vote to elect a representative of a place which is no longer mine... elections mean nothing to us," says a distraught Nobi who lost her home 11 months ago to ethnic violence in Manipur, and is living in a relief camp.

Also read: Manipur ethnic conflict characterised by brutality: Data

The 42-year-old is not alone as 'right to live before right to vote' and 'peace before polls' was the common refrain of many who have not been able to return to their home due to recurrent clashes and lingering hostilities between the warring ethnic groups in the northeast state.

The State has traditionally seen a very high voter turnout with more than 82% polling recorded in the 2019 elections. But the ethnic violence has cast a shadow on the polls this time with several civil society groups and the affected people questioning the relevance of conducting elections in the current circumstances.

"The government hasn't been able to ensure my right to live with dignity and they are going to ensure my right to vote?" Nobi asks. "My house was burnt in front of my eyes. I and my family left overnight. We do not even know what is left there." "Why should I vote for a representative of a place which is no longer mine? This is all a gimmick... Elections mean nothing to us," Nobi told PTI.

The hills state has witnessed sporadic, sometime intense, ethnic clashes since May 3 last year between the majority Meitei community and Kukis, resulting in loss of over 200 lives. While Meiteis have concentrated in Imphal city while Kukis have shifted to the hills.

Also read: Ethnic conflict casts a shadow on Manipur polls; Kuki-Zo, Meitei people devise voting strategies