Manipuri model, actress Lin Laishram slams Bollywood for keeping silent on Manipur violence

Model, actress and businesswoman from Manipur, Linthoingambi Lin Laishram, is concerned about the outbreak of violence in her home state and feels powerless. She claims that people are struggling to obtain basic essentials such as water, and she questions Bollywood's silence on the subject.

“India is ruled by Bollywood, and cricket. When Mirabai Chanu or Mary Kom won a medal for the country, people were clapping. Where are these people now? Nobody cares about us when it comes to talking for us. They would rather be talking about something else, happening in Delhi or outside India. But they don’t care about what is happening in another state of our country,” asserts the actor, who has been a part of films such as Om Shanti Om, Mary Kom, and Rangoon.

“How selfish are our celebrities? They will talk about what’s happening in America or Ukraine. They say Northeast bahut sundar hai, log achhe hain aur sports mein aage hain… Everybody is ready to celebrate, why not come together when we need these voices,” rues the actor.

“For me, and for other Manipuris, who have come out of the state, we are all feeling helplessness. We cannot do anything apart from praying and hoping for peace to prevail quickly. But it’s a very unfortunate situation,” Laishram says, adding, “I spoke to my mother, when the crisis was at its peak, and she told me that she had not bathed for four days, because the water supply was cut off. So, people in the society are struggling for basic necessities such as food, petrol, and water.”

In confrontations between the Meitei and Kukis groups in the state, at least 98 people were killed and approximately 40,000 were homeless.

What is adding to the difficulty is suspended Internet services, as she shares, “I try to talk to my brother every single day. I make sure that I call them, but there are times when I am unable to connect because there is no internet. There are days when they don’t pick up, and my heart is in my mouth.”

The actor had called her mother a few days back, and “she told me that they were not able to sleep last week because they were hearing gunshots every night. Homes are getting burned in the state, and people are sleeping wondering if it will be their last night. It is not easy at all. What is heartbreaking is that violence is getting normalised unfortunately”.

Expressing her disappointment, she says, “It is an appeal to all these celebrities. It’s a shame on you for not coming together. Being with us in good times not bad times — what sort of friendship is this? Everybody has turned a blind eye to it. We need more voices. Nobody is gaining from this violence.”