University of Birmingham professor ‘incited’ tension in Manipur

“insulted the Meitei’s religious beliefs and promoted enmity”

A University of Birmingham professor has been accused of inciting people from Manipur through online messages and chat sessions.

The police complaint was lodged in Manipur’s capital Imphal.

It was reported that the accused may also have links with the Khalistani movement in Canada.

The accused has been identified as Uday Reddy, a professor of computer science at the University of Birmingham.

In the FIR, the complainant said, “The accused deliberately with malicious intent, insulted the religious beliefs of Meitei and promoted enmity between Meitei and other communities on religious grounds.”

The complainant told the police that Reddy was hosting audio chats on social media and guiding the people of Manipur how to create trouble against the law enforcement personnel of Manipur.

On X, a notice on Reddy’s profile says his account has been “held in India in response to a legal request.”

The FIR continued: “The illegal activities of the accused and his associates constitute anti-national activities challenging the integrity and sovereignty of India and are fit to be dealt with under the relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“As there is a strong possibility that the accused has links with Khalistanis in Canada… and narco-terrorist groups… call records of the accused, financial activities… may kindly be investigated.”

NDTV reported that the complainant asked the Indian authorities to contact the university and inform them of his “criminal acts against India”, adding a surveillance circular (LOC) to monitor entry and exit points from India.

In May 2023, ethnic violence broke out between the Kuki and Meitei communities.

The violence left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.

More than 1,000 houses were also destroyed.

In December 2023, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressed concern about an overwhelming barrage of discourse distorting the truth with the rise of troll armies and disinformation campaigns on social media.

He said: “Freedom of speech and expression has traditionally been considered an essential part of civil rights activism because of the fear that the government would prevent certain types of speech from entering the marketplace.

“With the rise of troll armies and organized disinformation campaigns on various social media platforms, the fear is that there is an overwhelming barrage of discourse that distorts the truth.”