The Government of India has unleashed a reign of state terror by burning down floating huts belonging to members of the Meitei people in Manipur who are indigenous fishermen living in the Loktak Wetlands in Central Manipur.

The Government of Manipur has been blaming the indigenous peoples dwelling in Loktak lake for polluting it and causing contamination. Local people, however, blame pollution on the Loktak Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project, which has caused devastation of the wetlands ecosystem.

Approximately 200 of the nearly 1400 floating huts have already been burned, and if the Indian government burns them all down, over 5000 indigenous peoples will be displaced and left without a home.

Each family was offered the equivalent of $900 US dollars by the government to allow them to burn down their huts, which is horribly inadequate to find new housing and relocate to another area.

The arson and destruction of floating huts and livelihoods of the indigenous people dwelling in Loktak Lake constitutes a serious violation of the “right to life”, “right to adequate housing” clauses guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and also the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right.

The failure of the Indian government to obtain the consent of the affected communities also constitute a serious form of discrimination targetting the marginalized community and also violates the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination.

The government of India needs to immediately stop their campaign of terror and allow the Meitei people to remain in their indigenous areas without the fear of losing their entire lives.

Information provided by the Global Justice Ecology Project