Rahul Yatra Day 2: From leaders aboard bus to graffiti outside, Manipur divide apparent

As Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra travelled through north Manipur towards Nagaland Monday, the tensions left by the eight-month-long ethnic conflict between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribals in the state stared it in the face.

The yatra, which began from Sekmai on the outskirts of Imphal on Monday morning, passed through the volatile Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and Naga-dominated Senapati to reach Nagaland on Monday evening, halting at village Khuzama for the night.

Along the way, occasional graffiti on walls sought a separate administration for Kukis, odd posters welcomed “Rahuji” to “Kukiland” as the yatra passed through Kangpokpi, while heavy security was a constant. At one place, an enthusiastic group of boys, mostly in their teens, waving national flags, added a third slogan after the customary ‘Long live Rahul Gandhi’ and ‘Congress zindabad’. “We want separate administration,” they chanted.

People from the Kuki-Zo community welcomed Rahul with the traditional “Salulap Dance”.

In his brief speeches at short halts, some of those standing atop his custom made Volvo bus, Rahul repeated his call for restoration of peace and giving Manipur a healing touch.

At Senapati, he said: “We decided that the most powerful thing would be to start the yatra from Manipur so that the people of India could get a sense of what the people of Manipur have been through, the difficulty that they have been through and the struggles they have been through… I understand that you have faced a tragedy, you have lost family members, you have lost property. And I want you to know that we are fully standing with you. We want to bring peace back to Manipur. We want to make Manipur peaceful and harmonious again.”

Notably though, both Manipur