Girl student from riot-hit Manipur gets admission in Kerala school

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: She appears to be happy and complacent while playing the snake-and-ladder game with her friends sitting on a classroom bench in her new school here. The nightmares of the bloody riots in her home state seem to have vanished from her memory now. She is Hoynegem, alias Jay Jem, a Manipuri girl who was admitted to third standard at the Model Government LP School in Thycaud, here recently.

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When General Education Minister V Sivankutty came to the school to meet her on Thursday, the little girl was busy playing with her friends in the classroom, which was richly adorned with colourful wall paintings. The minister said Jay Jem hails from a border village in Manipur and she came down to Kerala from her riot-hit home state with the support of a relative. It is learnt that her house was burnt down by the assailants and her parents and siblings fled the village, he said.

Promising all government support to the student, the minister said Jay Jem is now the "adopted daughter" of Kerala. "There were no records with her when she came for the admission. The government gave permission to admit her without the transfer certificate (TC). All the facilities including uniforms are being provided to the girl," the minister said. He also interacted with her for a brief time in the classroom. Stating that Kerala has a social environment to live and study in peace, he also said the current situation in Manipur is very sad.

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Sivankutty demanded that the authorities be ready to take strong action against the attackers. More than 150 people have lost their lives, and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.