Imphal: A 48-hour office picketing protest led by the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) escalated into violence on Tuesday in Senapati district, resulting in damage to a government vehicle assigned to the Superintendent of Police (SP).
The protest, which was part of a broader agitation against the India-Myanmar border fencing and the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR), concluded with heightened tensions between demonstrators and authorities.
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According to reports, the peaceful demonstration took a violent turn when protesters allegedly overturned the official vehicle of the SP after facing strong resistance from senior government officials. The SP, accused of failing to engage with the demonstrators’ demands, reportedly ordered a CRPF jawan to load his service weapon and allegedly threatened the crowd, further escalating the situation.
The protest marked the final phase of ANSAM’s campaign, which had spread across all Naga-inhabited hill districts in Manipur, including Senapati. ANSAM has been voicing its strong opposition to what it calls an infringement upon the ancestral lands and familial unity of the Naga people.
The movement carried the slogan: “This movement is a united demonstration expressing our resentment and also is in defense of the Naga people’s ancestral land and familial unity.”
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Supporting ANSAM’s call, several federating student bodies under the Senapati District Students’ Association (SDSA) actively joined the protest. These included the Mao Students’ Union (MSU), Maram Students’ Union (MKS), Poumai Naga Students’ Union (PNTM), Thangal Students’ Union (TAJ), Zeliangrong Students’ Union, and Senapati Zone (ZSU-SZ).
The collective protest led to the closure of various government offices in the district, causing major disruptions in administrative operations and daily functioning. While no injuries were reported, the incident has raised concerns about increasing unrest in the region and the government’s handling of sensitive ethnic and territorial issues.