Members of Dalit and Christian communities have called for a statewide shutdown in India's Punjab on Wednesday in solidarity with people of strife-hit northeastern state Manipur.
In order to ensure the safety of the children and to avoid any detrimental episodes, the Punjab government has decided to keep schools and other educational institutions closed for the day.
Before announcing the statewide shutdown, members of both communities held a media briefing at the Press Club of Jalandhar city and formed a front, named Manipur Insaf Morcha.
Talking to the media, the president of Manipur Insaf Morcha Surjit Thapar said that movement in the state will remain halted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (IST).
However, petrol pumps, local shops, and pharmacies will remain open so that people don’t have to face problems in the event of an emergency. But in areas where there are chances of unrest, these facilities will be closed. Besides, the vehicular movement of essential services including ambulances will also not be disrupted by the shutdown, he added.
Meanwhile, in order to maintain law and order during the shutdown, a heavy police presence has been set up in some key areas.
The shutdown has been supported by several political parties, market associations, churches, bar associations, and other organizations.
The closure has been called in order to build a consensus against the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, which erupted on May 3 after two tribal communities clashed during a tribal solidarity march by the Kuki tribe against the Meitei tribe’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
However, the current outrage was triggered recently after a video of two women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted went viral last month.
So far, more than 150 people have died in the ethnic clashes while several have been injured and more than 60,000 people have been displaced.