manipur-school-poised-for-25-years-celebrations-now-abandoned-out-of-bound-for-kuki-owners

Razed buildings and burnt furniture. These are what remain of the St. Peter’s School in Manipur’s Imphal after a year of violence in the state between Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups.

 

“We were preparing to celebrate its silver jubilee year in 2023. But then the clashes broke out. They burnt everything,” said principal Khupkhoman, a Kuki who has since moved to Churachandpur from the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley region.

 

Now an abandoned structure, the Manipur Board-affiliated St. Peter’s School had more than 800 students till Class 10 pre-May 3, 2023, the day reports of incidents of clashes started pouring in from many parts of the northeastern state, prompting the closure of educational institutions, offices and businesses.

 

“It’s one day at a time for us. The situation remains unpredictable and we don’t plan anymore. The crisis continues, and there is nothing to look forward to or look back upon,” Khupkhoman, 62, who moved with her family to the hills of Churachandpur, said.

 

The school, built by Khupkhoman and her late husband over 25 years, also had her residence on its premises. She now lives with her family in a rented accommodation, displaced like more than 60,000 others from both communities.

 

But Khupkhoman has not stopped calling families living around the school to take updates about her Meitei students, the Kuki’s have moved out. “They have joined other schools, some have dropped out,” she told the media.

 

Recalling the preparations for the silver jubilee year celebrations, Khupkhoman said practice for dance and singing performances were underway. There was a lot of activity but then, within a night, it was all over, she said with tears in her eyes.

 

The institution was attacked in the early hours of May 4 by a mob.

 

Unsure about the school’s future, its management had moved the Supreme Court in November last year, seeking a direction to the Manipur government to compensate for the losses suffered and the state’s failure to launch an investigation to arrest the perpetrators.

 

“On May 4 last year, the school, its buildings, its legacy and its mission were burnt, destroyed and lost forever. A day before, some families rushed to the school for safety when a violent mob began attacking churches, homes and other establishments of Kuki-Zo tribals,” Khupkhoman’s daughter-in-law Niangthianvung, 37, said.

 

In the submission in the Supreme Court, the school’s management has put the loss of movable and immovable properties at an estimated Rs 14 crore. The amount includes loans and personal borrowing by the family to improve the school’s infrastructure, including construction of a new library and a recreational room.

 

Having experienced the “horrors of the carnage”, the family has also demanded compensation for mental trauma.