India holds mass burial for victims of ethnic violence

NEW DELHI: Bodies of 87 people killed during bitter ethnic violence over the past eight months in India´s Manipur state were buried in a mass ceremony on Wednesday, a community leader said.

At least 200 people have been killed in the northeastern state since fighting broke out in May between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. 

Tensions between the two communities have revolved around competition for land and public jobs, with rights activists accusing local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.

The far-flung state has fractured along ethnic lines, with rival militias setting up blockades to keep out members of the opposing community -- meaning many families were not able to travel to collect the bodies of their relatives. The remains of the victims had been lying in morgues in the state capital Imphal, considered a mainly Meitei-dominated area.

India´s top court last month ordered authorities to cremate or bury the bodies, with the remains of 64 people airlifted from Imphal and handed over to their families. “The burial is over of all the 87 bodies,” said Ginza Vualzong, a spokesman for the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) in Manipur, told AFP.

“It is a day of mixed emotions. It is a sad day, but in a way a sense of relief as we can finally put our martyrs to rest.” Long lines of coffins -- many with Christian crosses laid on top -- were lowered into separate holes dug into a hillside, while men with rifles fired volleys into the air.