For thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs), India’s Independence Day offered little reason for celebration as black flags were hoisted at relief camps across Manipur on August 15, highlighting the continuing displacement crisis more than three years after violence erupted in the State.
The protest was reported from several relief camps, including Sajiwa, Sawombung and Akampat, where displaced people staged demonstrations and raised black flags to draw attention to their prolonged displacement, uncertain future and the absence of a permanent solution.
“We have no meaning for ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ as we have no ‘ghar’ now to celebrate,” protesters said, turning the government’s Independence Day campaign into a pointed reminder of their loss of homes and livelihoods.
Many of the displaced have remained in relief camps since being forced to flee their homes following the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023. With their return still uncertain, they said they continue to live without secure homes, stable livelihoods and normal family lives.
The protesters questioned the relevance of celebrating freedom and independence while thousands remain unable to return to their homes or rebuild their lives. They said the black flags represented their anguish over lost homes, disrupted livelihoods and the continuing uncertainty over their future.
They also alleged that prolonged displacement had eroded their dignity and sense of security, with camp life becoming an indefinite existence rather than a temporary measure.
The protests sought to send a direct message to the government that relief camps cannot become permanent settlements and that financial assistance alone cannot substitute for a safe and dignified return home.
The IDPs demanded concrete measures for their safe return, rehabilitation, restoration of livelihoods and creation of conditions for lasting normalcy. They said the continuing displacement should remain a priority for both the State and Central governments rather than being reduced to a humanitarian issue managed through relief camps.
The black flags hoisted on Independence Day thus served as a stark expression of a population that, more than three years after the violence, remains displaced from its homes and waiting for the freedom to return.
