Family demands federal probe into death of Indian Christian legislator

Family members of an indigenous Christian legislator from India’s conflict-scarred Manipur state have refused to bury his body, demanding a federal probe into his death and a separate district for his tribal community.

Vungzagin Valte, 61, leader of the Zomi tribe and three-time state legislator, died in a New Delhi hospital on Feb. 21.

He had been in hospital for the past three years after he sustained injuries during the deadly ethnic conflict between the Hindu-majority Meitei and the predominant Christian tribal people that began in May 2023.

The conflict killed more than 260 people, mostly tribal Christians, displaced over 60,000 people, and destroyed hundreds of infrastructures, including houses, schools, and religious worship sites.

“We will not bury his body until the state government creates a separate district for the Zomi tribe and orders a probe by the National Investigation Agency [NIA],” a close aide of the family told UCA News, seeking anonymity.

The NIA is the top investigation agency under the federal government, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

The source said the family had planned to bury the body on Feb. 24, but it was put on hold following suggestions from the community leaders.

“The family changed its plan in respect to the common feeling of the community members,” he said, adding that the body has now been kept in the morgue of the government district hospital in Churachandpur, a tribal-majority area and one of the epicenters of ethnic strife.

As the slain lawmaker, who represented the Thanlon constituency, advocated for a separate administration for tribal people in Manipur, the community leaders formed a committee to address the family’s concerns with the government, he added.

The deceased leader came under a mob attack on his way back home from a meeting in the state capital, Imphal, at the height of the conflict on May 4, 2023. His car driver was killed, while he sustained serious injuries.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), an apex body of indigenous groups, termed his death a clear case of “systematic violence, displacement and destruction” upon the indigenous Kuki-Zo people and demanded a separate administration for them within the state.

In a statement on Feb. 23, the forum blasted the authorities for failing to make a single arrest in connection with the attack.

“It raises serious concern about the state’s ability to provide security and justice,” the group said, and reiterated its call for “a separate administration in the form of a federal territory with a legislature.”

This, it said, “is not a political ambition but a question of survival, dignity, and constitutional rights.”

It also demanded that the federal government make arrangements for an “immediate and honorable political settlement that ensures safety, justice, and self-administration for the Kuki-Zo people.”

However, not all Christians endorse the family’s decision.

“This move from the family of Valte and the Zomi community is likely to further escalate the tension in the state,” a Church leader told UCA News, requesting anonymity.

“We have been in total chaos since the outbreak of violence,” he said, adding that the military and paramilitary forces continue to patrol the state to maintain law and order amid “rising tension among different communities.”

The fragile peace can break with a small spark and lead to further violence, he said, urging all “to remain vigilant to prevent violence.”

The conflict in Manipur began after tribal groups opposed a court order granting tribal status to the Meitei, despite their financial and political influence.

Tribal Christians make up 41 percent of Manipur’s 3.2 million people, and Meities form 53 percent.

This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/family-demands-federal-probe-into-death-of-indian-christian-legislator/112033