Imphal/Guwahati:

Soldiers of a central paramilitary force were told to get down from a bus in which they were travelling and the vehicle was set on fire by a mob in Manipur’s hill district Kangpokpi on Monday night, the police said. A fire truck immediately doused the blaze. No one was injured, the police said

A case has been filed against unknown people with the police station in Kangpokpi, 45 km from the state capital Imphal. The incident happened at 9 pm.

Police sources said they have questioned some suspects in the Kuki-dominated district. The bus carrying soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was on hire and it was registered in the name of an individual from the valley-dominant Meitei community, police sources said.

The mob’s action was a retaliation to the burning of two trucks in Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district last week, sources said, adding the trucks were carrying construction material to build a bridge in Churachandpur, another hill district.

The bus was taking the CRPF personnel to the Kangpokpi district commissioner’s office, where they have been posted ever since the Lok Sabha elections ended, when the mob stopped them.

Yesterday, 60 trucks carrying fuel, medicine, baby food and other essentials were stranded for a day on Manipur’s second lifeline (National Highway 37) that connects Imphal with Cachar in Assam, after protesters from the Kuki tribes blocked a bridge in Jiribam, 240 km from the state capital.

Civil society groups of the Kuki tribes had said it was a counter-blockade to members of the Meitei community setting the two trucks on fire last week.

The highway blockade was cleared by the security forces today.

The ethnic clashes between the Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo tribes began over cataclysmic disagreements on sharing land, resources, affirmative action policies, and political representation, mainly with the ‘general’ category Meiteis seeking to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category. Over 220 have been killed, and more than 50,000 have been internally displaced.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Two senior members of a top civil society group of the Kuki-Zo tribes have refuted allegations made by the Manipur government that the “intellectual” group called for taking up arms in the state affected by ethnic violence.

The BJP state government led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh in October 2023 had announced a police case against the World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) had been filed, with charges under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, for allegedly publishing a statement asking “volunteers” in the Kuki-Zo tribes to take up arms as Kuki-Zo insurgent groups cannot “join the war” due to the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the centre and the state government.

Now, seven months later, the state government is pursuing the matter with the Home Ministry to ban the WKZIC, citing information about the group given by state intelligence operatives, people in the state government with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV.

Before the latest push to ban the WKZIC under the anti-terror law, Manipur government and police officials in February – four months after the Biren Singh government announced its intention to ban the group under the UAPA – worked in speed to send a request to the Home Ministry with ground reports collated by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) special branch operatives, asking to declare the WKZIC an “unlawful association/organisation”, documents accessed by NDTV show.

The WKZIC on October 25, 2023 had already trashed the statement attributed to it as “fake”, and questioned the state government’s effort to ban the group under the UAPA, which, the WKZIC had said, was all on the basis of the “unofficial” and “fake” statement circulated on social media.

Clarification in relates to the fake PR and the accusations that emerged. Note that WKZIC exclusively issues Official Press Releases and post them on its Official Twitter Account.

Now, how about sharing this real news more? It’s not just fake news that deserves the spotlight! pic.twitter.com/i9VsJEGWPP

— WORLD KUKI-ZO INTELLECTUAL COUNCIL (WKZIC) (@wkzic) October 25, 2023

“We are a global group. We do not hide any of our activity. We would like to see peace, but so many rights violations are happening. The state government cannot be trusted, so we appeal to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to intervene and solve the Manipur problem,” one of the two senior members of the WKZIC told NDTV on phone from Mumbai, requesting anonymity.

The other senior WKZIC member, who is in Delhi, told NDTV the state government is intimidated by the WKZIC as many highly qualified people from several sectors and professions are part of it, and they have been gaining ground with documentary evidence against “state-sponsored propaganda”.

“The government trying to ban us after seeing a fake statement attributed to us is one of the most ridiculous things to come out of Manipur since last year. Have they checked the source of the statement? Have they found the unknown miscreants behind it?” the Delhi-based member told NDTV. “We had said there and then [October 25, 2023] the statement was fake. The government is only looking for mileage,” the senior member said, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Taken aback by the decision of Manipur State Cabinet Vide. No.7, Imphal- WKZIC was noted as ‘Unlawful Association/Organisation’ over a FAKE PR.

WKZIC also condemns the Barbaric Acts of ‘Manipur Police Commando’ (CDO, who indiscriminately harassed innocent inhabitants of Moreh. pic.twitter.com/ESId6FvOBJ

— WORLD KUKI-ZO INTELLECTUAL COUNCIL (WKZIC) (@wkzic) October 31, 2023

Headed by Dr TS Haokip, the WKZIC (formerly Kuki-Zo Intellectual Forum) was formed on May 14, 2023, with its head office in Churachandpur, according to police records. Dr Thathang Hangsing is its vice-president.

State’s Latest Move To Ban WKZIC Under UAPA

After the purported statement attributed to the WKZIC came out on October 24, 2023, the Manipur Police on their own (suo moto) filed a first information report (FIR) on October 30 with the police station in Churachandpur, a district categorised as a hill area and dominated by the Kuki-Zo tribes.

Documents accessed by NDTV including the first information report (FIR), the CID special branch reports, and communication between police and state officials show that after the purported WKZIC statement came out, the state government was alarmed by alleged “movement of armed Kuki militants in large numbers in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts”.

“… Their deployment [is] for carrying out attacks on security forces especially the Manipur Police commando teams stationed in Moreh… There are also inputs regarding increase in strength of village volunteers of the Kuki community in the jungle areas of Moreh and movement of consignments of weapons to Moreh from Churachandpur via jungle route,” a senior intelligence officer of the Manipur Police wrote in a letter to the state Home Department on February 7, a day after the Home Department sought information from the police on the proposal to ban the WKZIC as an “unlawful organisation” under the UAPA.

The senior police officer enclosed intelligence reports collected over three months on the movement of suspected Kuki insurgents towards the border trading town Moreh, where two Manipur Police commandos were killed in action in January.

Enclosing the Manipur Police’s reports, the state Home Department then wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 11, reminding about the Manipur government’s request to ban the WKZIC under the UAPA.

“… I am directed to request the Ministry to kindly consider and take up necessary action for declaration of World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) as an unlawful association/organisation under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 in the larger interest of the general public,” the Manipur Home Department Joint Secretary said in the letter to the Union Home Ministry.

The state police concluded in the report sent to the state Home Department that the “activities of the WKZIC… has encouraged or aided persons under its influence including various civil society organisations, militant groups, miscreants and other persons in the Kuki-Zo community to commit acts of violence, intimidation, or intimidation against other communities and state security forces.”

“The various violent activities encouraged/incited by the WKZIC has led to the escalation of violence in the current situation [sic] the state,” the police report alleged.

The Home Department then enclosed this report in its letter to the MHA on February 11.

An email sent to the WKZIC went unanswered. The group does not mention a phone number in its statements posted on social media.

The ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo tribes began over cataclysmic disagreements on sharing land, resources, affirmative action policies, and political representation, mainly with the ‘general’ category Meiteis seeking to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category.

Over 220 have been killed, and more than 50,000 have been internally displaced since the violence began on May 3, 2023.

The Supreme Court forewarned the ED that it may “consider” granting interim bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case due to the ongoing Lok Sabha election. File photo
| Photo Credit: PTI

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Top wrestlers criticise Brij Bhushan’s son getting BJP ticket for Lok Sabha polls

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We may consider interim bail for Kejriwal due to polls, Supreme Court tells Enforcement Directorate

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India press freedom score falls, says Reporters sans Frontieres

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Manipur groups mark one year of conflict with cry for peace, justice

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BJP should answer allegations of harassment against Governor: CM Mamata Banerjee

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India, Indonesia agree to enhance collaboration in defence industry, maritime security

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Pakistan imposes restrictions on movement of Chinese nationals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after recent attack

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China launches lunar probe mission to collect samples for first time from far side of moon

China on May 3 launched a lunar probe mission to collect samples for the first time from the far side of the moon and bring them to Earth for scientific studies. The Chang’e-6 mission is tasked with collecting and then returning samples from the moon’s far side to Earth — the first endeavour of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration, China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

IPL-17: MI vs KKR | Venkatesh and Pandey’s partnership proves the difference as Knight Riders edge Mumbai Indians

Dominate the middle overs and win the match. That seems to be the flavour of the Indian Premier League this season. The same was on display at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday as the Kolkata Knight Riders clinched a convincing win despite having its back to the wall early on in the game.

Twenty20 World Cup West Indies squad | Rovman Powell to lead, rookie Shamar called in

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New Delhi:

Families of 31 missing people from Manipur’s valley areas have once again appealed to the Centre and the state government to help bring closure by tracing them. While some have quietly accepted it, others said they will never accept their loved ones have died. Their appeal comes as Manipur sees a year of ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023, between the hill-dominant Kuki tribes and the valley-dominant Meiteis.

Atom Kavita, 47, is the wife of Atom Samarendra, a journalist missing since May 6 last year along with another individual, Yumkhaibam Kiran Kumar.

“My husband was among the first people to go missing. I have performed the last rites as per our tradition by using pangong tree leaves in place of his body,” Ms Kavita told reporters in Delhi on Thursday.

“But the bitter truth is there is no closure and I can’t find peace. Deep in the corner of my heart, I still believe my husband is alive somewhere, and I still long for his return. He had helped the Kukis during the COVID-19 pandemic and the villagers had deep respect and love for him,” she said. “I can’t believe they would kill a person who helped them when they were in dire need of help,” said Ms Kavita, and broke down on camera.

The Meiteis and the Kukis have been fighting for a year now, with both communities sharply divided on ethnic lines, and each not going to areas where the other is dominant. The “neutral” central forces stand between them in what is now known as “sensitive zones”, mostly in the foothills.

The father of a 20-year-old man who went missing along with a 17-year-old teen in September last year was among the families who came to Delhi to narrate their ordeal. Phijam Ibungobi, 63, told reporters that his son Phijam Hemanjit and the other teen Hijam Linthoungambi went missing on June 6, but the photos of their bodies lying in a grassy pit on a hill surfaced on social media three months later.

Yaikhom Bidya, 13, whose mother died when she was two, is now an orphan. Her father, Yaikhom Nanao, was murdered by an armed mob in the now Kuki-dominated border town Moreh, walking distance from the Myanmar border.

“We were hiding in a bush. It was night and dark. I have never seen anything like it,” a teary eyed Ms Bidya said in the hall packed with people. They lived in ward No. 9 in Moreh, a tiny Meitei colony.

Another woman, Ninghthoujam Premlata, 47, whose 19- year-old son went missing in November last year after he crossed the “sensitive area” that divides the Meitei- and Kuki-dominated areas, said it breaks her heart every time she thinks about how her son, Ningthoujam Anthony, would have endured torture before he was killed.

“… He was not a security personnel or a village volunteer or involved in any violence. He was just a young boy who unknowingly crossed the buffer zone during a joyride. Had the police and central security manned the sensitive zone, he would have been with me today. Even today, I hope that someone would call me saying my son is found alive and that is why I always keep my mobile with me so that I don’t miss a call,” said Premlata.

The families said tracing the remains or whereabouts of their missing loved ones must be done actively by the security forces. They want to perform the last rites, bring closure, and ensure the killers get punished.

“If the missing people are untraceable, there is an immediate need for the authorities to declare them as untraceable officially, and issue certificates accordingly,” said RK Bijyalakshmi, chief of the Imphal-based civil society group SOULS, or Souls Offered Unitedly for a Lustrated Society.

Both the Meitei and the Kuki communities in cities across the country including Delhi and Bengaluru have planned gatherings on Friday to observe a year of loss since the clashes began on May 3 last year.

The hill-dominated Kuki tribes and the valley-dominant Meiteis have been fighting over cataclysmic disagreements on sharing land, resources, affirmative action policies, and political representation, mainly with the ‘general’ category Meiteis seeking to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category.

Over 210 have died in the ethnic conflict; nearly 50,000 internally displaced people are still living in relief camps.

On the request of the family members, many civil society groups came together and helped them reach out to share their grief and appeal to end the violence, said the organisers, which comprise Delhi Manipur Society (DeMaS), Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee (DMCC), Global Manipur Federation, Karnataka Meitei Association, Meitei Yaipha Lup, Meitei Alliance, Meitei Diaspora in America, Meitei Heritage Society (MHS), NUPI, Souls Offered United for a Lustrated Society, Team Meitei Personalities (TMP), and the World Meitei Council (WMC).

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

A gunfight between two armed groups this morning left one dead and three injured in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, the police said.

Gunmen attacked Koutruk village in Imphal West district from the hilltops in neighbouring Kangpokpi, leading to retaliation by an armed group from the village below, the police said.

The fierce gunfight spread to the adjacent villages of Kadangband and Senjam Chirang, the police said.

The Meitei-dominated Koutruk village in the far end of the state capital Imphal valley has seen intense clashes and has been identified as one of the most vulnerable areas since ethnic clashes broke out with the hill-dominated Kuki tribes in May 2023.

The Kuki group Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) based in Kangpokpi, 45 km from Imphal, has called a 12-hour shutdown in protest against the gunfight.

Manipur Police’s Initial Information

The gunfight comes a day after the Manipur Police said Kuki insurgents attacked a police camp and killed two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers in Bishnupur district’s Naranseina village.

Initially, police sources said heavily armed Kuki insurgents came from the hills about 2 km away using the cover of darkness at 12.45 am and attacked the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp with grenades, small-arms fire and crude ‘artillery’ locally known in the hills as “pumpi gun”.

The gunfight with “a group of suspected Kuki militants and their supporters” lasted 40-50 minutes, the officer-in-charge of Moirang police station said in a letter to the Bishnupur district magistrate for post-mortem of the two CRPF soldiers who were killed in action – sub-inspector N Sarkar, 55, and head constable Arup Saini, 40.

“Will Find Out Who Did It”: Security Adviser 

Later, state security adviser Kuldiep Singh told reporters the attackers were yet to be identified, and indicated they have got some leads.

Both Meitei and Kuki civil society groups have accused each other of trying to malign their community by linking the attack to insurgents from the other’s ethnicity. The security adviser, however, said the attackers are unknown though they have a rough idea of the suspects.

“… That (investigation) is at a very nascent stage, and I can’t exactly say. But you can very well anticipate and understand that whatever group in that area is active – I don’t need to repeat the names – you all know which kind of group is active in that area,” Mr Singh said, without naming the group.

CRPF Inspector General Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the attackers will be identified and punished for their actions very soon.

“There was a huge deployment of CRPF in the elections and at that time, our force had gone from a few areas for election duty. These anti-social elements got the opportunity. They felt that our strength was less in numbers and took advantage of it,” he said.

Attackers’ Motive

Mr Singh said the motive of the attackers is unknown, but “there are so many things which come to mind”.

“Like earlier also you might have seen that groups are now attacking national infrastructure like road, tower line. As a guesswork it now goes that they are attacking central forces. How can that go? It cannot be tolerated. All things will be put against them to find out, kaise ho rahan hai (how is it happening) and we will take it out,” Mr Singh said, alluding to the April 16 attack on fuel tankers on a highway.

A little-known insurgent group United Kuki National Army (UKNA) on April 17 had claimed responsibility for the ambush on civilian fuel tankers on National Highway 37 a day before. The UKNA is not part of the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement – a kind of ceasefire – signed between over two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and the Centre and the state.

The security adviser denied intelligence failure as one of the contributing factors to the deadly attack on the Naranseina IRB camp.

“Intelligence is a very broad subject. Intelligence failure can be attributed at the drop of a hat. It’s not that we were expecting they will attack any of the forces. And this is the first time they have attacked the forces. None of the Meitei or Kuki militants were attacking the forces because the forces have come to maintain peace,” Mr Singh said, adding that’s why the central forces are in the middle of both communities.

“… Even both sides (Meitei and Kuki) call the BSF, CRPF, army, Assam Rifles neutral forces. They themselves say neutral forces. So if they are neutral forces, why are you attacking the neutral forces? Whoever has done it, they will have to pay a very heavy price,” he said.

Civil Society Groups’ War Of Words

Kuki civil society organisations (CSOs) in statements alleged the attack on the CRPF camp could only have been done by some valley-based armed group, as Naranseina is a Meitei-dominated village, deep inside Bishnupur district.

“… It is highly suspicious that this is a propaganda effort of the VBIGs (valley-based insurgent groups) to mislead the people and cast the Kukis in a negative light as a cover for their numerous anti-national activities,” the CSO Kuki Inpi Manipur said in a statement.

Meitei groups pointed out the IRB camp at Naranseina is only 2 km from the hills, and the attackers came from that direction.

The CSO Meitei Heritage Society (MHC) in a statement said “the Kuki militants have become so confident about getting away that they have crossed the ‘sensitive area’ and brazenly attacked the IRB camp, killing the two CRPF soldiers.”

“As we say this, Kuki pressure groups have started circulating disinformation that it was Meiteis who attacked the IRB camp. These Kuki pressure groups had also blamed the Meiteis for the recent attack on fuel trucks on the highway and for the sabotage of a bridge in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. The Kuki militants are running false flag attacks to malign the Meiteis as they want violence to break out again in less than a week on May 3, the first anniversary of the Manipur ethnic crisis. This is a pattern we have seen,” the MHC said in the statement.

Congress workers protest against Non transparent policy of BJP government for not disclosing names of electoral bonds against SBI Bank in Mumbai on March 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

33 loss-making firms donated electoral bonds worth ₹582 crore, 75% went to BJP | Data

The sources of funds of at least 45 companies that donated electoral bonds to various political parties (and whose financials could be matched with data from the CMIE Prowess IQ Database) are found to be suspect based on a joint analysis by The Hindu and an independent research team. These 45 companies are subdivided into four categories (A, B, C & D).

Prison locks will be broken, our leaders will come out, says AAP’s Sanjay Singh after release

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The Rajya Sabha MP, who was greeted by large crowds and much fanfare, said that though he was free, AAP must “continue its struggle”. “This is not the time to celebrate. We need to continue our struggle. Our party’s senior leaders – Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain – are still behind bars. Jail ke taale tutenge, hamare saare neta chhutenge (The locks of their prison will be broken and all our leaders will come out),” he said, minutes after walking out of Tihar jail.

Congress expels Sanjay Nirupam for ‘indiscipline’, making statements against party

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Probe against Kejriwal at nascent stage: Enforcement Directorate to HC

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Hand over 2018 violence probe to NIA, Calcutta HC tells Bengal government

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Meitei body asks CEC, CJI to defer Lok Sabha election

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Congress playing religious card in Arunachal: Chief Minister Khandu

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on April 3 accused the Congress of playing the religious card in the State after a Christian organisation declared support for the Lok Sabha candidates of the grand old party.

ECI shakes up West Bengal administration, special observer arrives in State

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Purnea LS seat may witness triangular fight as RJD candidate Bima Bharati files nomination papers

Ending speculation, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Bima Bharati on April 3 filed nomination papers from the Purnea Lok Sabha seat in the presence of RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who had joined the Congress recently, will in all likelihood contest the seat as an Independent after RJD supremo Lalu Prasad did not pay attention to his appeal to forego the seat in favour of the Congress.

Election Commission reviews law and order in States and Union Territories

The Election Commission of India on April 3 met with top officials of all States and Union Territories to assess the law and order situation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in order to prevent illicit activities and ensure strict vigil along inter-state and international borders.

DC vs KKR | Destructive Knight Riders batters make it a no contest

Sunil Narine top-scored with 85 (39b, 7×4, 7×6) as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) took apart Delhi Capitals’ (DC) bowling like cotton candy to post 272 for seven before going on to win by 106 runs at the Dr. YSR ACA-VDCA cricket stadium here on Wednesday.

Imphal/New Delhi:

The Manipur government will take “appropriate steps” to enforce a law that will end the system of hereditary chieftainship in the hills areas of the state, BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The state is seeking to scrap the chieftainship system to end the rule of village chiefs, who are the sole leaders of settlements and own entire villages, and pave the way for setting up a democratic way of rural governance.

Referring to Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s statement in the assembly on Monday that the government will enforce an Act, which was passed in 1967 to abolish hereditary chieftainship, Imo Singh said the then President had also given assent to the bill in June 1967.

What remains to be done is to notify the Act in the official gazette, government sources told NDTV.

“A very important statement by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Manipur assembly that the state government will consult and take appropriate steps for the implementation of The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967. This Act was passed by the Manipur assembly on January 10, 1967 to abolish hereditary chieftainship,” Imo Singh, who is also the son-in-law of the Chief Minister, said in the post.

“However this Act has not been enforced till now, thus enabling the chieftains to continue with their rights and establish villages as per their hereditary practices. One can see the exponential growth of villages in these places,” Imo Singh said.

“Manipur is the only state in the North East where this Act isn’t implemented. Even a state like Mizoram had implemented a similar act for abolishing chieftainship way back in 1954 when it was a part of Assam. (The) need of the hour is to implement this Act at the earliest date, which we are hopeful now,” the BJP MLA said.

A very important statement by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Manipur Legislative Assembly that the State Government will consult and take appropriate steps for the implementation of The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act 1967. This Act was passed by…

— Rajkumar Imo Singh (@imosingh) March 4, 2024

The hereditary chieftainship system has faced severe criticism over its allegedly exploitative nature in modern times. The feudal system often leads to nepotism and autocracy – when the current chief dies, only his son can become the next chief. Power struggles among siblings have led to mushrooming of villages in Manipur.

The state bordering Myanmar – the junta nation that’s struggling for its own survival – is yet to see peace 10 months after violence broke out between the hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes, who follow the chieftainship system, and the valley-majority Meiteis over serious disagreements on sharing land, resources, political representation, and affirmative action policies.

Since the clashes began, 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs have been asking the central government to carve out a “separate administration” from Manipur.

Why Act Not Enforced

On why Manipur never enforced the Act to scrap hereditary chieftainship for decades since the bill was passed by the assembly and cleared by the President, state government sources said the fault lies with successive Congress governments in the state.

“The Congress has ruled Manipur for the most part of the decades since Independence. Other parties came and went briefly, like blips on a screen. They never got the opportunity to treat the deep wounds inflicted by the Congress party,” a government source told NDTV on phone from Imphal, requesting anonymity.

“Notifying the Act in the official gazette would not have been a problem. But the past governments didn’t do it because some leaders probably benefitted from the system. And now in these violent times, any major decision would not be easy,” the source said.

After the British left, India passed the Zamindari Abolition Act, 1951, and ended the zamindari system, but in Manipur the Kuki-Zo tribes still practice it in the form of chieftainship. Even neighbouring Mizoram, where the tribes share ethnic ties with the Kuki and Chin people, had scrapped chieftainship.

Over 180 have died in the ethnic violence and thousands have been internally displaced.

Imphal/Guwahati:

Ten Naga MLAs in Manipur have demanded the appointment of a new minister to look after tribal affairs and hill matters amid the disruption caused by the ethnic violence in the state bordering troubled Myanmar.

In a letter to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, the Naga MLAs said the Tribal Affairs and Hills Minister Letpao Haokip has been “absent” for the past 10 months, and this portfolio is key to bringing peace in Manipur.

Mr Haokip is among the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs who have been seeking a separate administration carved out of Manipur, a demand that for a long time Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, too, have been negotiating with the Centre.

The 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs also face criticism from their own community for supporting the ruling BJP government headed by Biren Singh, who the Kuki-Zo tribes hold responsible for the violence.

After clashes broke out between the hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis in May 2023, Kuki-Zo civil society groups such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) have also joined the call for a separate administration.

This single demand has brought the insurgent groups, the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, and the civil society groups on the same page.

“As you are aware of the difficulties faced by the innocent citizens of Manipur due to unrest happening in our state, in this hour of crisis, we would like to appeal you to kindly look into the matter of the functioning of the Tribal Affairs and Hills Department, which has been rendered defunct due to the absence of the Minister… for the last 10 months,” the 10 Naga MLAs said in the letter to the Chief Minister.

“It is pertinent to point out that this department is becoming more crucial in this hour of crisis to look after the needs and development of tribals and hill areas of the state to bring overall peace and progress in the state,” the Naga MLAs said. “Therefore, we would like to request you to appoint a Tribal Affairs and Hills Minister in-charge to look after the affairs of tribals and hills efficiently and effectively,” they said.

The 10 Naga MLAs are Awangbow Newmai, Khashim Vashum, Loshii Dikho, N Kayisii, Leishiyo Keishing, Janghemlung Panmei, SS Olish, Ram Muivah, J Kumo Sha, and Dinganglung Gangmei.

The Kukis had fought with the Nagas in the early 90s after the Nagas accused them of encroaching on their land. Many from both tribes were killed in that conflict. The Nagas who lived in the border town Moreh eventually left the area en masse, while the Kukis, who share ethnic and familial ties with Myanmar’s Chin people, stayed on and became the dominant community.

The Naga tribes live in many hill districts of Manipur, a majority of them towards the east and northeast part of the state.

The violence over disagreements on land, resources, political representation, and affirmative action policies in Manipur has dragged on for nearly 10 months now.

Over 200 have died and thousands have been internally displaced.

Imphal/New Delhi:
A convoy of Manipur Police commandos drove into the India-Myanmar border town Moreh on Tuesday night following the killing of a senior officer by insurgents. The commandos, who were ambushed by insurgents, pressed on and reached the town at midnight.

Here’s your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story

New Delhi/Imphal:

A woman who was released on bail after her arrest in Manipur in August last year over her expired Norwegian passport and Indian e-visa is allegedly a top member of a Myanmar-based insurgent group, people with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV.

The insurgent group is fighting the junta in Myanmar’s Chin State, just across the border from Mizoram and Manipur, sources said.

Mya Kyay Mon, 52, was found walking “suspiciously” at a market in Manipur’s capital Imphal on October 23, sources said, adding how she continued to stay on with expired documents and what she was doing in violence-hit Manipur are under investigation.

With Imphal on high alert amid the ethnic tensions between the Meiteis and the Kuki tribes following months-long violence, the police questioned Ms Mon after they found her at the market. She showed her travel papers that turned out to be expired, sources said.

She was taken to the foreigners detention centre and is kept there since then, following an order by the Manipur government to the state police chief and the jail superintendent. NDTV has seen a verified copy of the Home Commissioner T Ranjit Singh’s letter to the police chief and the jail superintendent.

“It is claimed she came to Imphal to appear in a legal case concerning expired documents. But we are exploring all angles, including the allegation that she’s a top member of a Myanmar-based insurgent group and has links with some armed elements in the hill district Churachandpur,” a senior police officer who has direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV, requesting anonymity.

Some 25 hill-based Kuki insurgent groups have signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the centre and the state government. These insurgent groups along with some civil society organisations in valley-majority Imphal have come under intense scrutiny over alleged participation in the ethnic violence that has killed over 180 and left thousands internally displaced.

Ms Mon was first detained by the Assam Rifles during routine checking in August last year on the highway connecting Imphal with the border trading town Moreh. The Assam Rifles in a statement had said they found an expired Norwegian passport and an Indian e-visa, and she came to India in May 2019.

Subsequently, the Manipur Police took her into custody and kept her in Imphal’s central jail, until she got bail in February this year, after which an Imphal-based human rights organisation run by local activist Babloo Loitongbam helped her find a women’s shelter home to stay.

“The case of Ms Mya Kyay Mon, a Norwegian citizen of Myanmar origin, was brought to the attention of HRA (Human Rights Alert) by the Myanmar language instructor of the Centre for Myanmar Studies of Manipur University… HRA took up her case as a ‘woman in distress case’ and informed the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Delhi. Thereafter, she was issued a fresh Norwegian passport as her old one had expired,” HRA executive director Mr Loitongbam said in a statement in response to local media reports on the matter.

“… In the wake of the ethnic unrest in Manipur and when the NGO (shelter home) expressed their discomfort in keeping her, we organised an air ticket for her to get out of the state. We have been informed she was summoned by the court to appear in her pending trial in Manipur,” Mr Loitongbam said in the statement, adding they did not know Ms Mon before and after her arrest in August last year, until the moment they met her in the Imphal jail.

The activist, who is also a fierce critic of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and whose house was vandalised by a mob earlier this month over his comments on two Meitei organisations, said HRA only gave “legal and humanitarian services” when requested by a woman in distress “as per our mandate as an organisation defending the human rights for all.”

A statement purportedly given by Ms Mon to the media said she left Manipur in May when ethnic violence broke out and lived in Delhi for two months. She then went to Punjab for four weeks and returned to Delhi. She went to Rajasthan next, from where in October she came to Kolkata and proceeded on to Dimapur. Finally, she came to Imphal to meet members of the Manipur Human Rights Commission on October 11, the statement said. But she couldn’t meet them and left Imphal, only to return on October 23, the day she went to the market in Imphal from where she was detained by the police. NDTV could not independently verify this statement.

Though the Manipur ethnic violence between the Kuki tribes and the Meiteis is said to be over the Meities’ demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes category, many leaders including Union Minister Home Minister Amit Shah and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar have said entry of illegal immigrants is one of the main factors behind the unrest in the northeast state, which is ruled by the BJP.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said it is looking into an alleged transnational conspiracy involving terror groups hiding in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Manipur to exploit the ethnic violence in the northeast state.