Sitting on a hillock in Manipur University, an Assam Rifles camp overlooks the Imphal valley, its view foregrounded with at least six student hostels. The university roads and hostels below are mostly empty – a sharp contrast from the chaos which engulfed the campus nearly three months ago.
On the intervening night of May 3 and 4, smoke billowed from buildings, and a 1,000-strong mob from nearby areas ran amok in the university as befuddled students dashed outside. Paramilitary personnel from the Assam Rifles scrambled vehicles to rescue them, and gunshots rang out. And by the end of it all, the AR camp, which mostly sees students paying a visit to a Meitei temple on the hillock, became home to nearly 500 students and faculty members.
