Thousands of residents participated in a rally called by the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki tribes in the strife-hit state, seeking the urgent intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the "deteriorating Kuki-Naga relations, targeted attacks on Kuki-Zo people, and the worsening security situation in Manipur".
The state has been in turmoil since May 3, 2023, due to the conflict involving the Kuki-Zos and the Meiteis. However, recent months have witnessed growing hostilities between the Kuki-Zos and the Nagas, one of the state's three major communities that also includes the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos. Several recent developments point to escalating tensions between the Kuki-Zos and the Nagas, who had adopted a neutral stand in the conflict involving the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos.
After the Meiteis, Naga organisations are now seeking abrogation of the Suspension of Operation (SoO) with the Kuki-Zo groups.
On June 17, the administration had to shift three injured Kuki-Zo youths, including a footballer associated with Mohun Bagan, from RIMS to Churchandpur Medical College following protests since June 15 opposing the medical treatment extended to the “three militants”. Kuki-Zo organisations asserted that the injured youths were village volunteers.
The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) is in Meitei-majority Imphal West district and Churachandpur is a Kuki-Zo-majority district like Kangpokpi, where the three youths were injured in a firing incident involving two armed groups on June 15.
The rally called by KIM was organised by the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) in Kangpokpi to draw the Centre's attention. The KIM submitted a three-page memorandum to Modi through the Kangpokpi deputy commissioner, claiming the killing of 14 Kuki-Zos and the destruction of 11 Kuki-Zo villages since February 8. Banners carried by protesters in Kangpokpi blamed the Naga armed groups — the NSCN and the ZUF — of carrying out the attacks.
According to a Kuki-Zo activist, the killings and the arson took place between February and June and the worst affected is the Kuki population in Kangpokpi and the Naga-majority Ukhrul district. The rally was held in Kuki-Zo areas, he said.
Ties between the Nagas and the Kuki-Zos took a severe hit following the recovery of the bodies of six abducted Naga men from Kangpokpi district on June 10, a day after the Naga organisations ensured the release of 14 Kuki-Zo taken hostage in Senapati district hours after three Kuki-Zo church leaders were killed in an ambush on May 13.
Manipur deputy chief minister Losii Dikho said on Sunday that an outfit under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) fold was involved in the abduction and killing of the abducted Naga men while urging Modi to take those responsible to task. He did not name the Kuki-Zo group under the SoO.
Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said during an official event in Tengnoupal on Friday that a united Manipur is the only way forward for all 38 communities inhabiting the state.