- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The event, which took place in the parliament’s Jubilee Hall, was attended by members of the Indian subcontinent diaspora and prominent community representatives.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AS India continued to debate and look for ways to douse the fire of ethnic clashes in the north-eastern state of Manipur that completed three months on August 3, an interfaith solidarity gathering denouncing the violence in the small state with an international boundary was held in the New South Wales parliament in Australia the same day.
The event, which took place in the parliament’s Jubilee Hall, was attended by members of the Indian subcontinent diaspora and prominent community representatives. A minute’s silence was also observed in memory of the victims of the violence.
More than 180 people have been killed in the ethnic clashes while several hundreds have been rendered homeless. Shocking revelations of crime against women have also come to the fore, which saw the country’s Narendra Modi government receiving a serious backlash and the supreme court stepping in.
'Let us unite in our quest for justice, not just for the Kuki-Zo tribe, but for all oppressed minorities. Let us ensure that our tax dollars do not fund violence' — Kuki-Zo woman, Mary Biakmawii Mizo. Solidarity with the women of #Manipur! https://t.co/rcZkP2CLmV
— Green Left (@GreenLeftOnline) August 8, 2023
Organised by STOP Violence Against Women and under the slogan ‘Save Manipur Save Women’, speakers at the event expressed shock over the developments in the north-eastern state since May 3.
Abigail Boyd, a member of the NSW Legislative Council from the Greens party, said in a Facebook post expressing solidarity with minorities in India and everywhere, ” I was honoured to speak today, along with Lee Rhiannon and members of the Indian diaspora community, demanding justice for women in Manipur… We must stand up, raise our voices and fight for justice for minority, Dalit and Indigenous women.”
Mary Biakmawil Mizo, senior administrator at the ARC Training, described emotionally the information she had about her family and the Kuki-Zo tribes facing challenges in Manipur, South Asia Times reported.
Among other dignitaries who addressed the meeting included, among others, Rt. Rev.James Jacob, Labor member of the legislative council Anthony D’Adam, former Greens senator Lee Rhiannon.
Manipur has a population of around three million of which 53 per cent are Meiteis, followed by Nagas (24 per cent), Kuki-Zo (16 per cent) and others, including Muslims and Christians. As per the 2011 census, more than 83 per cent of the majority Meiteis practise Hinduism.
