One common element that repeated in all instances of sexual assaults in Manipur in the recent spate of violence, was the refrain from the perpetrators as the assault was in retribution of what had been done to the Meitei women.
Revenge for rape is rape, they shouted, when they attacked women belonging to the Kuki-Zo tribe, as recalled by the victims later, and told to Hoineilhing Sitlhou, who teaches Sociology at the University of Hyderabad and who spoke to the victims and their kin.
Ms. Sitlhou recounted the testimonies as a speaker at the 50th anniversary event of the Progressive Organisation of Women on Saturday, where she linked the ethnic violence to viral spread of fake news, which she chose to call misinformation or disinformation.
