India, June 18 -- The shadow of the ethnic conflict that has ravaged Manipur for over two years and effectively split the state into two has cast a shadow over the more recent tragedy, the crash of Flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the passengers and crew, including two members of the cabin crew from Manipur.

One of the dead cabin crew, Nganthoi K Sharma, was a Meitei, and the other, Lamnunthiem Singson, was a Kuki-Zo. And even as authorities in Ahmedabad are working to identify and return the bodies of the two women, back in Manipur, there are hectic parleys underway between the local administration, the police, and leaders of the Meitei and Kuki bodies.

Since May 2023, the state has been roiled by an ethnic conflict t...