JIRIBAM: In a shocking incident, unidentified miscreants set fire to Blooming School, an acclaimed educational institution at Kalinagar Hmar Veng, Jiribam. The fire went off about 4:10 am on Friday further heating up already tense atmosphere in Manipur.
The school owned by Rev. Benjamin Shakum, an illustrious community leader, who is known for his allegiance to education and social service, has suffered extensive damage. It is fortunate enough that no casualties have been reported.
Rev. Shakum said he was deeply grieved over the incident and expressed that he was deeply hurt since his school was burnt down whereas he has been running it since 1997.
He said the education landmark of Jiribam which had been producing excellent results since its inception, with no single failure in the HSLC exams so far. He stressed that the school was always a place of learning for students from all communities, including many of the Meitei brethren.
Shakum, deeply saddened by the brutality, averred that the school has always been a discrimination-free zone, where everyone, regardless of whatever background one may have, is allowed and encouraged to come in.
He said that this attack was not only on the school but on the values of unity and progress they had nurtured for so long. He added that such actions only deepen misunderstandings and exacerbate conflict, and that he expected them to bring the culprits to justice and address the damages.
The Hmar Inpui General Headquarters has strongly condemned the arson attack on the Hmar community school as an assault on a prime educational institution that had long been serving all the communities in Jiribam.
The Blooming Flower Children's Foundation School, according to them, which has temporarily been closed down due to violence, has been converted into a duty center by security forces.
However, the attack took place when nobody was around because the school's owner had been raising genuine concerns for protection on many occasions.
The radical Meitei groups allegedly launched such an attack on behalf of the Hmar Inpui as part of a larger strategy to deracinate the Hmar community in Jiribam. They called upon the authorities to take prompt action to contain the situation further and secure the whole community.
Even the Hmar Village Volunteers (HVVs) shared their concern and frustration, citing that the attack directly threatens the peace of the region. Since the conflict between the communities broke out on 3 May 2023, Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribes have generally remained calm and inhibited themselves from retaliation, despite attacks such as burning homes and churches, including the killing of Bosco Seigoulen Singson.
It has, in a very strong ultimatum, called upon all the Meiteis, police forces, and even the Central Forces stationed in the Barak Circle to vacate the region before sunset on October 18, 2024, failing which they will undertake actions for which they alone will be responsible.
The Kuki Inpi of Jiribam, Tamenglong, and Noney also lamented the attack and described it as a crime against humanity and a set back for the youth of the region. They condemned the local authority's sufficiency of security measures and demanded swift action to bring perpetrators into book.
The All Jiribam Tribal Union added their voice and demanded unity, love, and mutual respect amongst all communities in the district. They resented the continued violence, saying that "God says vengeance is mine, I will repay." They called upon everyone not to exacerbate the already dismal condition.
It remains still unknown whether peace and stability will visit Jiribam again because the tensions within this nascent town are soaring, with rising demands for justice and preventing further violence.
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