'Took Away Everything We Earned, Everything We Had': India Footballer Chinglensana On Manipur Violence
Indian footballer Chinglensana Singh speaks of pain he faced when he came to know that he has lost everything to the Manipur violence.
New Delhi: India footballer Chinglensana Singh said that violence in Manipur took away everything that he and his family had. Singh said that he heard about his houses being torched and it was heartbreaking for him, as per PTI, While talking to the news agency, he said that he had a big dream of providing a platform to the youngsters but it was taken away when the violence broke out in the northeastern state on May 3. According to PTI, was representing Hyderabad FC in an AFC Cup playoff (Asian continental tournament) match against Mohun Bagan in Kozhikode when he saw a trail of text messages and a barrage of missed calls on his phone.
"It has taken away everything from us, everything we earned, everything we had," the player, hailing from Khumujama Leikai in Churachandpur district, told PTI.
"I heard the news of our house being torched and then the football turf that I built in Churachandpur was burnt. It was really heartbreaking," he said, adding "I had the big dream of providing a platform to the youngsters but it was taken away. Fortunately, my family escaped the violence and was shifted to a relief centre."
The footballer said that he tried to connect with his family and when he finally managed to get in touch with his mother, he hear her wailing amid the sound of gunshots in one of the epicentres of the violence. He immediately decided to go back.
PTI mentioned that by the time he came to know about the violence, the clashes had destroyed his house, ravaged his village, and ruined his hopes of giving training to aspiring footballers' dreams. Only his family survived, the agency stated in the report.
"I always had a big dream of providing a platform to the youngsters in Churachandpur who are talented but they couldn't afford to enrol in a football school. "My aim was to provide them a platform, to help them become professional players and then go on and play for the national team... become great players for the country. Then this incident happened, so everything is being robbed. But we will try to start again," Singh told PTI.
Notably, the violence was sparked by a court ruling in March that granted the majority Meitei scheduled caste status. The order entitled them to the same economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education as the minority Kuki. This paved the way for Meiteis to buy land in the hills, where the Kukis predominately live, the agency reported.
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