Video of women attacked in Manipur breaks silence on systematic gang rapes in India

Women burn the house of a man accused over the mob attack in May, as violence continued near Manipur's capital, Imphal, on 21 July. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

As footage emerged last week of two women in the state of Manipur being forcibly stripped, paraded naked, publicly molested and allegedly gang raped, everyone from prime minister Narendra Modi to the chief justice of India publicly expressed their shock and disgust.

Breaking his long silence on the conflict that has been raging in Manipur for months, Modi declared that “what happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven” and that “the entire country has been shamed” by the attack.