eNDING hISTORY:

Since May, Manipur has been plunged into a state of low-level civil war driven by sectarian rivalry between the majority Hindu Meitei population and the predominantly Christian Kuki tribe. So far at least 130 people have died. 

The carnage stems from attempts by the regional BJP government to clamp down on Kuki poppy, which Kuki officials argue is part of a wider attempt to undermine their influence in the state.

The central Indian government has been accused of implicitly supporting Meitei militias. In response, New Delhi deployed 40,000 soldiers to quell the violence, which has often manifested itself through the systematic rape of women. 

The European Parliament reacted by passing an emergency resolution on July 12th, pinning the violence on "nationalistic rhetoric" from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, accusing the government of promoting a form of "Hindu majoritarianism" against racial and religious minorities.

MEPs also called for aid agencies and independent observers to be given free access to the region. 

Immediately after the resolution passed, Indian BJP officials took to social media to condemn the decision and linked it to a wider plot by the country's opposition--and Western NGOs--to destabilise the ruling government by politicising the situation in Manipur.

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