“We don’t want to experience the trauma and terror again,” say students who returned from violence-hit Manipur to Uttar Pradesh. However, despite reluctance, some said since their families have invested almost everything, they don’t have any option other than to pursue their courses once things get back to normal in Manipur.
The Uttar Pradesh government has so far pulled out more than 140 students who were pursuing different courses from five universities and colleges including IIIT Manipur, NIT Imphal, National Sports University, Central Agriculture University Imphal, and Government Medical University Manipur.
Prabhu Narayan Singh, UP relief commissioner who is overseeing the entire evacuation operation that was initiated on the directions of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, said, “Following information received about 158 students from the state, we have managed to bring back 142 so far. 11 students managed to come back on their own and five students refused to return from Manipur.”
The evacuation of students started on May 9. On the first day, 62 were brought back, 36 on May 10, 32 on May 11, and a batch of around a dozen students reached UP on Friday.
What was common among all of them was “trauma”. It’s been almost a week since Jitendra Kumar, who was pursuing B Tech from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Manipur, managed to fly back to his hometown Ballia, but he is yet to recover from the trauma and terror he experienced during the days of unrest in the north-eastern state. “We were stuck for almost seven days in our college and those seven days were the worst days of my life. The gunshots, police sirens, chaos, and the noise of rioting, it was all easily audible from the college campus. I don’t want to experience the same trauma again,” said Jitendra. “I still find it hard to believe that I have reached safely. Going by the situation in Manipur, I had thought I would never see my family members again.”
Abhishek Kumar, another B Tech student who hails from UP’s Gorakhpur, says he is still having sleepless nights and the sights of rioting haunt his dreams.
“I had never thought that such a beautiful state would burn like this. We are thankful to our government that evacuated us all safely,” he said.
There are students who seem wary about going back but say they have no choice as their families have exhausted all their resources so they can pursue their education. “My father is a farmer and pursuing higher studies was a distant dream for our family. But my father sold off almost everything, invested it in me, and got me enrolled in a university in Manipur to pursue higher studies. I can’t afford to stay back; I don’t have any option than to go back and continue my studies,” said Saurabh Kumar, another student who hails from Gorakhpur district in UP.
The students say they are keeping their fingers crossed and waiting for things to get back to normal in Manipur so that return to pursue their studies.
Nearly 10,000 soldiers from the Army and Assam Rifles have been deployed in Manipur, which has been rocked by clashes mainly between the Meitei community, living mostly in Imphal Valley, and Kuki tribals, who are inhabitants of the hill districts. A total of approximately 13,000 civilians have been rescued and are currently staying in various temporary boarding facilities specifically created for them within company operating bases and military garrisons. The death toll during the violence has crossed 50, according to reports.
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