Pregnant women and new mothers in Manipur fear for the future

Ethnic violence in the north-eastern Indian state has torn families apart and left tens of thousands homeless

Warekpam Rameshwari, 37, lives with her daughter at a government-run relief camp for displaced women and new mothers in Manipur, north-east India. Taniya Dutta / The National

Shagupam Ramita gave birth to her second child five days ago, a baby boy, but the young mother is far from happy.

Almost two months into a crisis of ethnic violence that has swept the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur, an uncertain and anxious Ms Ramita lives with her newborn and a three-year-old daughter at a youth hostel.

It has now been converted into a relief camp in Imphal, the state capital. Her husband lives in a different relief camp and has seen the baby only once.

“A woman wants to spend this time with her husband, her family but I am here. My husband has only seen our son just once, after delivery at the hospital,” Ms Ramita told The National.

“It is my son’s naming ceremony tomorrow. It would have been a joyous function for us if we were at home, but now it will be a brief event. But I am excited to see my husband.”

Ms Ramita is from Matha village in Churachandpur, a Manipur district that has been at the centre of ethnic clashes between predominantly Hindu Meitei community and the mainly Christian Kuki tribals that have claimed at least 140 lives and left more than 60,000 people homeless.

“As soon as the word of violence spread, we fled for our lives. I was heavily pregnant and was clueless about what was going to happen to me and my unborn child," she said.

She is one of hundreds of new mothers and pregnant women from the Meitei community who escaped alleged Kuki attacks on their villages and took refuge at relief camps run by the Indian army.

The youth hostel she is staying at was converted into a dedicated camp for such women by the president of the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Adhikarimayum Sarda Devi, who had the necessary care facilities installed.

About 79 women have taken refuge at the camp since May 21, of whom 32 were moved to the homes of relatives after giving birth.

Instead of the joy experienced by any new mother, Ms Ramita says she is worried for her child’s future.

“Now that my baby is born, I am anxious. I don’t know when we will go home,” she said.

Six rooms at the hostel, including three on the lower ground floor, are used by pregnant women while two rooms on the first floor are for new mothers and their babies.

They sleep on thin mattresses on iron cots or beds fixed to the cement floor in large semi-circular rooms with only a ceiling fan to provide relief from the sweltering heat.

There is a round-the-clock medical team, an ultrasound machine for regular check-ups, and 14 attendants to look after them.

They are provided with nutritious food and their children are given basic education, said Rajkumar Kumar Meitei, who is in charge of the relief camp.

“This relief camp is open for any pregnant women. We started with two pregnant women from Churachandpur and [since then] have had 79 women from whom 32 children, including a set of twins, were born to 31 mothers – 16 boys and 16 girls,” Mr Meitei said.

“We are providing medical facilities, trauma reduction counselling and education facilities to the children. We have tied up with government-run hospitals for deliveries.”

Despite the facilities, the women say the absence of their husbands and family at such a challenging time has created an emotional vacuum in their lives.

“Everyone takes care of us but as a pregnant woman we need more happiness. Our house is the place where we get that happiness,” Warekpam Rameshwari told The National.

Ms Rameshwari, 37, is in her third trimester. She has been living at the camp with her daughter, 5, since July 11.

She fled barefoot and with no clothes or medicine as word spread of the violence in her village, Olshongbung Khunnou in Churachandpur.

Ms Rameshwari said she was in a state of shock for weeks, and could not stop thinking about the image of her house being burnt to the ground.

“I was in a relief camp. I didn't know how to smile or speak to people there. I couldn’t stop thinking about my house, my family. It was only after I came to this camp and met other pregnant women here that I started to speak again,” she said, looking at photos of her husband, Warekpam Prem.

She is due to give birth in August but says she worries for the future of her children.

“After the violence, how will we begin our life? Our future? There is no house, we will need lots of money to build it again. How will our kids begin their life? There is nothing left for us.

“In the Meitei community, in the seventh month we celebrate a festival for pregnant women. As of now, there is no hope for us to celebrate anything. I am not able to see my husband, my family.”