Outraged protestors took to the streets of New Dehli after a brutal video surfaced of two women, stripped naked and paraded down a street in India’s Manipur state, being sexually assaulted before a mob allegedly gang-raped them in a field.
The horrifying images of young men marching the women down the road while groping their genitals went viral on social media, prompting the nation’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to claim the attack has “shamed India.”
According to Qatari columnist Abdulla Alamadi, the “shocking scene” took place “months ago” and is “shattering the image of Hindus in the world.”
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT!
Another shocking scene from Manipur, which happened months ago but is trending now on media, which is shattering the image of Hindus in the world.
Two helpless girls were completely stripped naked by a mob & later raped, similar to Bilkis Bano story !
Minorities in danger. pic.twitter.com/1G5TZpnpEp— د.عـبدالله العـمـادي (@Abdulla_Alamadi) July 20, 2023
The author likened the incident to the story of Bilkis Bano, an Indian activist who was gang-raped by 11 men when she was just 21 years old and five months pregnant during a period of “communal violence” in 2002.
Manipur is a remote state in India ruled by PM Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, according to the Daily Mail. The area has been “in the grips of a near-civil war since May, which has left 130 dead and seen mobs rampage through villages killing people and torching houses,” the outlet reports.
“The guilty will not be spared. What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” Modi vowed in his first remarks about the region’s ethnic clashes.”My heart is filled with pain and anger. The incident from Manipur that has come to the fore is shameful for any civilised nation.”
“Meanwhile, over the past 2 days, another 246 churches have been set on fire, and Kuki tribe Christians have been expelled from at least 50 settlements, fleeing into the mountains from Hindu Meitei tribes,” one Twitter user noted.
‼️ “My heart is saddened by the incident in Manipur, none of the guilty will escape responsibility, there will be no mercy” – Indian PM Modi comments on events taking place in the state of Manipur.
Meanwhile, over the past 2 days, another 246 churches have been set on fire,… pic.twitter.com/3pdjABdYxh
— {Matt} $XRPatriot (@matttttt187) July 20, 2023
Author Deborah Tungnung called recent events in Manipur “unimaginably dreadful.”
“It’s difficult to put into words how we can possibly move forward,” she tweeted on Thursday. “We’ve witnessed oppressions, arsons, killings, looting, sexual assaults, hatred everywhere.”
“On May 4th, a video of Meitei Women instructing sexual assaults of a Kuki-Zo woman to their sons circulated,” she explained. “On July 2nd, David Thiek Hmar was beheaded & butchered by Meitei Men, his decapitated head hung on a fence! Later, image appears wherein the murderer, without any guilt, comfortably held our brother David’a severed head.”
Less than a month later, she continued, “a video of Meitei Men parading naked & molesting 2 Kuki-Zo Women surfaced.”
The events that have transpired since May 3rd in Manipur have been unimaginably dreadful. It’s difficult to put into words how we can possibly move forward. We’ve witnessed oppressions, arsons, killings, looting, sexu@l assaults, hatred everywhere.
On May 4th, a video of Meitei… pic.twitter.com/evpQZR954h
— Deborah M Tungnung (@DeborahTungnung) July 20, 2023
“This is such a cruel world we are living in!” Tungnung exclaimed. “How can we possibly live with the people who hate us enough to instruct assaults, to kill us in the most barbaric way & who doesn’t respect & value the chastity of women? Would it be even fair to the victims?”
“Even if & only IF we are to want to ‘wish’ we could still live together, the reality is too harsh & grim,” she stated. “It is not a fancy, wishful thinking but rather the ‘reality’ that brought us to opt for the only viable option, which is the demand for a Separate Administration.”
Manipur’s Chief Minister Biren Singh called the attack on the two women “disrespectful and inhumane.”
“My hearts go out to the two women who were subjected to a deeply disrespectful and inhumane act, as shown in the distressing video that surfaced yesterday,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “After taking a Suo-moto cognisance of the incident immediately after the video surfaced, the Manipur Police swung to action and made the first arrest this morning.”
The death penalty for the victims’ attackers is on the table, Singh said.
“A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment,” he wrote. “Let it be known, there is absolutely no place for such heinous acts in our society.”
My hearts go out to the two women who were subjected to a deeply disrespectful and inhumane act, as shown in the distressing video that surfaced yesterday. After taking a Suo-moto cognisance of the incident immediately after the video surfaced, the Manipur Police swung to action…
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) July 20, 2023
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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