Rush Hour: 1 dead in Manipur clashes, primatologists oppose Great Nicobar project and more

Rigged rankings, fake assessments – is your degree at risk? Fund our special project: India’s Great Education Betrayal

Fresh clashes between Hmar and Zomi communities in Manipur’s Churachandpur district left one person dead on Wednesday. The violence occurred despite prohibitory orders being imposed earlier this week after a Hmar leader was allegedly assaulted.

Tensions flared after Hmars opposed a Zomi group hoisting a community flag, leading to the killing of Lalropui Pakhumate. In response, the Zomi Students’ Federation declared an “indefinite emergency shutdown”. Deputy Commissioner Dharun Kumar urged dialogue and warned against taking the law into one’s own hands.

Legislators and tribal bodies called for peace and cautioned against giving communal colour to disputes. Churches and tribal leaders also condemned the violence and proposed a joint peace committee. Churachandpur has witnessed unrest amid the broader ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar group and Meiteis that began in May 2023. Read on.

The Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation has indefinitely suspended services on 10 routes to Punjab after two of its buses were vandalised in Hoshiarpur and Mohali. The unrest began after two tourists from Punjab allegedly displayed Khalistan separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s flag on their motorcyles in Manali, leading to an FIR.

After this, Dal Khalsa activists reportedly stopped Himachal buses in Punjab...

Read more