Violence erupted in the northeastern Manipur state between Christian and Hindu communities in May over job quotas, land rights
\n NEW DELHI
\nFurious women set fire to the houses of two Indian men accused of parading two women naked in a state where months of ethnic clashes have left at least 120 dead, images showed Friday.
\nA clip went viral Wednesday showing two women reported to be from the Kuki tribal group walking naked along a street while being jeered at and harassed by a mob reportedly from the Meitei community.
\nViolence erupted in the northeastern state of Manipur between the mainly Christian Kuki and the predominantly Hindu Meitei in May over job quotas and land rights, and intermittent clashes have continued since.
\nThe emergence of footage of the women\u2019s humiliation \u2014 which happened in May \u2014 triggered outrage across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying it had \u201cshamed India.\u201d
\nPolice arrested four suspects Thursday, and the same day a group of women activists threw stacks of hay into the house of one of the men in Imphal and set it on fire.
\nAs the fire raged, the women \u2014 from the Meitei community, like the accused \u2014 broke down the walls and roof of the house with sticks.
\nOn Friday, another mob of women destroyed the house of a second accused, reducing it to ash and bars, photographs showed.
\nIndia is generally traditionalist, conservative and patriarchal, but the Meitei have a history of women\u2019s activism, with women having a more prominent role in society than elsewhere.
\nThe video of the naked women sparked protests across India on Friday, with demonstrators calling for the state\u2019s chief minister to step down over the delay in taking action.
\n\u201cCan normal people do these things?… Even cats, dogs, animal(s) never committed these kind of filthy act,\u201d said one demonstrator near Imphal, where hundreds of women gathered to protest.
\n\u201cThis is not even how human beings treat other human,\u201d she said.
\nIndia\u2019s Supreme Court warned Modi\u2019s government Thursday that if it does not act, \u201cwe will.\u201d
\nAuthorities in Manipur, led by the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said police had taken action as soon as the video surfaced on social media.
\nA \u201cthorough investigation\u201d was under way, the state\u2019s chief minister N. Biren Singh tweeted Thursday.
\n\u201cWe will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment,\u201d he added.
\nThe Manipur violence came after the Kuki community protested Meitei demands for reserved public job quotas and college admissions as a form of affirmative action, stoking long-held fears that they might also be allowed to acquire land in areas currently reserved for tribal groups.
\nHomes and churches were torched, with tens of thousands of people fleeing to government-run camps.
\nIn a detailed report to the Supreme Court in June, civil society group Manipur Tribal Forum said many gruesome acts of violence, including rape and beheading, had not been investigated by state authorities.
\nFootage of one such incident was shared on Twitter Thursday, reportedly showing an aide to a BJP lawmaker in the state holding a victim\u2019s severed head, before it disappeared from the platform within hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Violence erupted in the northeastern Manipur state between Christian and Hindu communities in May over job quotas, land rights NEW DELHI Furious women set fire to the houses of two Indian men accused of parading two women naked in a state where months of ethnic clashes have left at least 120 dead, images showed Friday. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-344783","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n