A video showing Kukis holding a memorial service to pay tribute to their deceased loved ones in the ongoing violence in Manipur has been doctored by overlaying misleading subtitles and is being falsely shared claiming the ethnic community made calls for violence against the Meitei community.
BOOM was able to confirm that the translated subtitles in the video is incorrect; the sloganeering and announcement heard in the Paite dialect in the video did not raise any inciteful speeches against the Meitei community as claimed in the subtitles.
Manipur has been reeling under massive violence after an ethnic clash broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities of the state. A disturbing video of two Kuki women being paraded naked surfaced on July 19 sending ripples across the country. The attack took place on May 4. In another incident, an image showing a severed head of a Kuki man hanging from a bamboo wall also surfaced showing the intensity of the ongoing flare-up. As many as 130 people have lost their lives in the clashes so far.
Amidst the flare-up, several unrelated videos and images are being circulated falsely linking them to the violence. BOOM has fact-checked several such pieces of misinformation. Read the fact-checks here.
The video is circulating on Facebook and Twitter with captions claiming that the Kuki militia has openly called for genocide against the Meiteis.
The video shows men and women dressed in black marching with drums and flags. In the later part of the video, they clap in solidarity as rows of coffins can be seen placed in front of them.
One such video has been captioned as, "Chin Kuki militants openly threaten they will abuse Meitei women and children. Is this a lawless country where hundreds of militants can openly declare war against India and genocide against Meiteis with help of foreign militants. Why is the Indian army and security forces mute spectators. Who has tied their hands and shut their mouths."
Click here for an archive for the video.
The same video is circulating on Twitter with a similar claim.
Click here for an archive of the video.
Fact Check
BOOM found that the video shows a memorial service held recently in Churachandpur by the Kuki Zo community to mourn the loss of lives in the violence. A 'Wall Of Remembrance' with photos of the deceased was created as part of the memorial service.
We then found several replies to the tweet by Bellatrix Rosie @yumjaoleima that stated that the subtitling does not match with the dialect heard in the video.
We reached out to two people who are fluent in the Paite dialect to know more about the interpretation heard in the video. Both have called out the subtitles in the video and said that no slogans or calls for genocide were raised against Meiteis in the viral clip. The announcers can be heard instructing to the pouring crowds to line up and pay tribute to the martyrs.
We reached out to a Kuki-zo member who does not wished to be named due to security reasons. She told us, "In the video, the announcement is being done in the Paite dialect. Paite is a dialect spoken by the Kuki-zo people of Manipur." She also shared the entire transcription of the announcements heard in the video with BOOM, which nowhere states that the announcers were calling for genocide of Meiteis in the tribute. Below is the transcription of the video.
We then reached out to another Kuki-zo college teacher, residing in North India, who corroborated the same. She told BOOM, "This translation is incorrect and the sentences have not been interpreted correctly here. The one who placed the subtitle here just wrote whatever he or she wants to project and has nothing to do with what is being said or done in the actual video. The announcer was guiding and instructing the crowd to move forward, stand in line, announce the order of programme, and asked the youths of Lamka to come forward." Lamka here refers to the small town in Churachandpur where the event was being held.
She further told BOOM that the lyrics of the song heard in the background do not suggest any genocide against the Meiteis. "The song urges people to stand up strong for the Zomi cause. There are no words of killing, chasing or any form of instigation which can be heard." Further both the translators confirmed that nowhere in the video is the word "Meitei" mentioned.
BOOM was able to confirm that the event was part of the 'Wall Of Remembrance' that was organised by the Kuki-zo people to mourn the loss of lives in ethnic clashes. Read here.