A horrific video of two Manipuri women being paraded naked by a mob of Manipuri men, went viral on Twitter on Wednesday, sending shock waves acorss India and triggering outrage and condemnation from all corners. Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh on Thursday said that the cyber cell has been asked to verify the authenticity of the video, condemning it as a heinous crime against humanity. 

To the uninitiated, violence between two groups in Manipur began as early as May 3, 2023 and the video in question where the women are subject to assault on camera was taken on May 4, 2023. The reason behind the clash between the valley-majority Meitei and the hill-majority Kuki tribe, is the Meiteis' demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status. The assaulted women who were allegedly asked to disrobe every piece of their clothing or loose their lives, belong to the Kuki tribe. 

There are 50-100 and many of their faces were visible, why others are not arrested yet?

— Power of Questions (@RamakantaShur) July 20, 2023

One of the main culprits named Huirem Herodas Meiteim, aged 32 years and who was seen in the video wearing a green t-shirt and holding one of the disrobed women, was arrested on Thursday afternoon. He belongs to Pechi Awang Leikai region of Manipur. 

Along with the rest of the nation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Tamil film industry personalities like director Pa. Ranjith, actor Kavin, film distributor, former actor and politician Udhayanidhi Stalin, music composer GV Prakash, actor-politician Kamal Haasan have expressed their gross dismay on Twitter. 

Absolutely heartbroken and appalled by the agonising violence unleashed on women in #Manipur. Where is our collective conscience? The hate and venom are uprooting the very soul of humanity. We must stand united against such atrocities and work towards fostering a society of…

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 20, 2023

Deeply saddened by the reports of two women from Manipur paraded naked by an armed mob. The complete breakdown of law and order that continues for more than three months is unacceptable. The Union Government should step in to restore peace and protect the lives and dignity of…

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) July 20, 2023

Manipur 💔💔💔💔💔💔

— Kavin (@Kavin_m_0431) July 20, 2023

மணிப்பூர் சகோதரிகளுக்கு எதிரான பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை மனித வரலாற்றில் பேரவலம் மன்னிக்க முடியாத பெருங்குற்றம்….
கொலை வாளினை எடடா மிகு கொடியோர் செயல் அறவே…

— G.V.Prakash Kumar (@gvprakash) July 20, 2023

Breakdown of Constitutional machinery in Manipur. Clear case for President’s rule. @rashtrapatibhvn @narendramodi #Manipur https://t.co/FPcAKxYGB8

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) July 20, 2023

Condemnations against the BJP led governments’ silence on Ethnic Riots in Manipur

Following the order to include the social-economically and politically dominant Meitei Hindu tribe into the Schedule Tribe list, broke out riots between Meitis and Kuki-Zo Christian Tribes.

The…

— pa.ranjith (@beemji) July 20, 2023

The circulation of said video on Twitter played an important role in highlighting the gross nature of the violence and bringing action from those in charge of law and order in the country. However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, has warned the social media platforms functioning in the country, of compliance with new IT rules.

These rules underline that freedom of expression is allowed with “reasonable restrictions”. They also say that the circulation of videos like the one in question here, are not permitted under law because of the "law and order problems" they bring.