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By Akshay Dongare: Parents of nearly 90 students, with tears in their eyes, met their children for the first time today since being separated for a week amid the ongoing violence in Manipur. Belonging to the Tribal communities, they could not come earlier to save their children studying at a boarding school in Imphal, dominated by the Meitei community.
The safe return of the children was made possible by of actions of the principal of the school and the Indian Army.
“I too will become an Army officer,” said 7-year-old Zoya Vaiphei. She is the daughter of an army soldier who died in the line of duty and was stranded with her classmates from school.
Also Read | West Bengal government brings back 35 students from violence-hit Manipur
Her mother, Lhilhing Vaiphei, said, “My husband served in the Indian Army for 18 years before his death. My daughter grew up watching her father and wanted to be like him. But now her resolve is stronger.”
A resident of Keithel Manbi village in the Kangpokpi district, Lhilhing Vaiphei said the worst part of the conflict for her was staying away from her daughter. “My house is 70 km from here and that’s why I couldn’t come to pick her up after violence started. It was impossible to travel without protection. I’m a single mother and the first thought that came to my mind was whether she is safe,” she said.
“It was only after I learnt the next day that the Indian army has rescued the children, I was relieved. I knew my child will be safe,” she said.
Also Read | Manipur villages that once housed tribals, non-tribals now ‘no man’s land’
What happened on the day of violence?
It was around 8 pm when Vahneilam Vaiphei heard loud sounds near her house and realised something was not right. Reports of clashes in the state were already pouring in through the local YouTube channels.
Vaiphei, who runs the Bloomingdales boarding school in Imphal East, has 90 students from all communities studying at the institute. Vaiphei said she supervised the evacuation of the students, standing with a sword at the gate.
“We alerted the students by waking up the caretakers. I was the last to leave the school and guarded them with a sword. We then ran towards the hills the next morning. Later, I came back to the school to get some breakfast. There were sounds of firing all over so I headed back to the hills. There is a shortcut from there to the Army camp. I then contacted the army, requesting them to rescue the students,” she told India Today TV.
Also Read | ‘We heard gunshots, bomb blasts’: Bengal students rescued from Manipur
“It was so quiet. No one was anywhere. The roads were deserted. I came back to get breakfast for the children, but once I heard the gunshots and the announcements by the different communities, I started reaching out to the parents from the Meitei community who could come and pick up their children,” she added.
The children were evacuated by the Indian Army even before they were called in by the central government to restore law and order in the state. The Army unit at the Leimakhong Camp in East Imphal rescued the children after getting an SOS call from the principal.
The Army facilitated the reunion of the parents with their children at the Leimakhong camp as tensions between the Kuki and Meitei communities continue to prevail. They requested parents to gather at a safe location in the Tribal districts and sent trucks to bring them to the camp. The children ran to their parents as soon as they saw them walking up.
“All these children who stayed with us are extremely brave. None of them cried in the past seven days. They obeyed their principal and were very disciplined. They will make good soldiers if they decide to join the Army,” an officer, overseeing the operation, said.
Principal Vahneilam Vaiphei said, “All students, barring 10, will be leaving today. The rest will also leave soon. I could never discriminate between my students. I was like a mother to all of them – be they from the Meitei community or the Kuki community. I really pray and hope that peace prevails and my students can study together.”
Also Read | Army aircraft, helicopters to be deployed over violence-hit Manipur for surveillance
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