Women in Manipur protest against atrocities by militants

Imphal, Oct. 14 : Women in Manipur were recently out on the streets to protest against the atrocities committed by the militants.

They took out a torch rally in west Imphal last week against militant groups. The women condemned the underground groups as criminals who were operating in the guise of revolutionaries.

The protestors said that the worst sufferers of militants' atrocities were women, as it is the women who suffer the most when the family's breadwinner loses his life.

They carried placards reading 'Humans should not torture humans' 'In the name of revolution, don't extort money'.

Meena Devi, one of the participants, said: "We are participating in this protest to express our grievances. We request the militants not to hurt innocent people. We are expressing our unhappiness through this."

Chanchan Devi, another participant in the street march, said: "We do not agree with the militants throwing bombs at local residents. They consider innocent people as worthless beings and this is not right. That is why we are protesting against them."

The women's protest march was carried out following a recent grenade attack on the house of Khamba Singh, an engineer working in the state's electricity department.

Militants here wish to keep people under control by arousing fear among them. Every one in Manipur is wondering why the militants attacked simple government servants, who are trying to work despite the limited resources available at their disposal. Anita Devi, a local resident, said ;"Militants throwing bombs at an innocent civilian's house is not right and we are protesting to voice against such activities. We are taking this step to tell them to stop such activities."

Bimolini Devi, another woman, said: "If these things keep on happening frequently, it will be very difficult for us to live on. We want them to stop such activities as soon as possible. This is our urgent request to the revolutionaries."

The placards carried by the women protestors read : 'Does revolution means destroying peace', 'Torturing family members is not revolution'. The placards reflected the dislike of Manipuris in general of the underground groups.

Local residents are today well aware that the so called revolutionaries are basically extortionists and do not reflect the aspirations of the people of the state. By L.C.K Singh

ANI