Amidst the outrage and protests across India against the inhumane act committed against two Kuki women by a mob in Manipur, an image of Mizoram Chief Minister (CM) Zoramthanga sitting in at the protest has triggered another outrage – but in Manipur.
The protestors, under the aegis of ‘My Manipur’ burnt an effigy of Zoramthanga to condemn his participation and his ‘provocative’ statements made against Manipur CM Biren Singh. To understand why the Mizoram CM made a move like this, one has to analyse several layers of narratives and a linear approach will not help us.
On 25 July, a conglomerate of five major civil society organisations in Mizoram called ‘NGO Coordination Committee’, organised a solidarity march in various parts of the state. Hundreds of people clad in black clothes turned up on the streets to demonstrate their “solidarity with Zo ethnic tribe of Manipur”.
In the crowd was CM Zoramthanga, clad in ‘Thangchhuah kawr,’ a dark blue shirt with a red line, which was usually worn by knights according to the traditional customs of the Mizo people.