STRASBOURG  -  The European Union parliament on Thursday called on India to end vi­olence and protect minorities in the Manipur state, slamming the "na­tionalistic rhetoric" it said was add­ing to tensions.

The motion came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-day visit to France, where he will at­tend the traditional Bastille Day mili­tary parade as a guest of honour.

MEPs expressed concern over the clashes between Manipur’s majori­ty Meitei, who are mostly Hindus and live in and around the state capital Imphal, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe in the surrounding hills.

The EU parliament said the violence has “left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced and over 1,700 houses and 250 churches destroyed”.

MEPs called out “nationalistic rhetoric” and the parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday urging Indian authorities to “promptly halt the ethnic and religious violence and to protect all religious minori­ties”.

The Kuki community had protested Meitei demands for reserved public job quotas and college admis­sions as a form of affirmative action.

This also stoked long-held fears among the Kuki that the Meitei might also be allowed to acquire land in areas currently reserved for tribal groups.

The resolution noted that “intolerance towards mi­nority communities has contributed to the current violence and that there have been concerns about politically motivated, divisive policies that promote Hindu majoritarianism in the area.”

“The Manipur state government has also shut down internet connections and severely hindered report­ing by the media, while security forces have been im­plicated in the recent killings, something that has further increased distrust in the authorities,” it said.

It called for independent investigations and a lift­ing of internet shutdowns.

It added that “human rights must be at the heart of the partnership between the European Union and In­dia, including in trade relations”.

MEP Pierre Larrouturou, the text’s chief negotiator, said the local government of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “fanning the flames of conflict”.

“By authorising the armed forces to fire on civil­ians and cutting off Internet services, the BJP is us­ing the local violence to further discriminate against non-Hindu minorities”, he said.

Larrouturou called Modi’s invitation to the parade in Paris “an affront not only to India’s minority com­munities, journalists and human rights defenders, but also to India as a democracy”.

Manipur is part of India’s remote northeast, a re­gion linked to the rest of the country by a narrow land corridor.