As threats rise, Meiteis exodus from Mizoram continues | India News

Over 200 people from Manipur have left Mizoram over the weekend, officials said. Sources said almost all Meiteis in Mizoram for government jobs and small businesses have moved out and a few are waiting to be airlifted to Manipur by the government. Fifty-three people flew out in an Alliance Air Aizawl-Imphal plane Sunday, while 14 and 11 others left in Indigo airline’s flights from Aizawl to Guwahati and Aizawl to Kolkata, respectively, the same day.

Officials of the Mizoram civil aviation wing said of 67 passengers who were aboard the Aizawl-Silchar-Imphal Alliance Air flight on Saturday, 65 left for Imphal and two got off in Silchar. There were 31 Mizos in Alliance Air’s Imphal to Aizawl flight on Sunday. They had returned to the Manipur capital to continue their studies after being evacuated from Imphal, but came back home due to the current situation. Meanwhile, forty-one Meiteis reached Assam from Mizoram. The Assam government set up a relief camp in Cachar district for the group.

A vast majority of the Manipuri people, both Meiteis and Pangals (Manipuri Muslims), in Mizoram are from the Barak Valley areas of Assam. The rest are from Manipur. Those from Barak Valley have left for their homes and the ones from Manipur have taken shelter in a relief camp, a senior official said. However, the chief advisor of the All Assam Manipuri Youth Association, Ksh Kundan Singh, criticised both the Mizoram and the Assam governments for “playing the role of mute spectator” when the lives of Meiteis are under threat.
“We condemn the governments of Mizoram and Assam for doing nothing for the safety of the Meities and their failure to provide them security. At the moment we pray that Meiteis of Mizoram come home safely,” Singh said on Sunday.
Mizoram home commissioner H Lalengmawia met representatives of All Mizoram Manipuri Association (AMMA) on Saturday and assured them of safety.

Appealing to them to not be misguided by rumours, he persuaded them to inform the people from Manipur, both government employees and students, not to leave due to the “unfortunate misinterpretation of the press statement by PAMRA”. The central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the largest civil society in the state, joined the appeal.
Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by Mizoram DGP Anil Shukla reviewed measures taken to ensure the safety of the Manipuri community.