evidence: The violence was sparked by a court ruling in March that granted the majority Meitei "scheduled tribal status", entitling them to the same economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education as the minority Kuki. [...] Though the state and central government – which are both ruled by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) – have claimed that the situation has begun to calm down, intermittent clashes have continued to erupt and those fighting on both sides have warned that Manipur remains on the brink of civil war. The clashes have renewed and strengthened a longstanding demand by the Kukis for their own separate state. Kuki groups say the violence has proved they can no longer live safely under the oppressions of a Meitei-dominant state and have pledged they will not stop fighting until their own state is granted. The Meitei community and the state government fiercely oppose the creation of a separate Kuki state.