Manipur – Artifex.News

17-year-old Naga youth shot dead in Manipur, say police

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:17:00 +0000

More than 40 people have been killed since clashes broke out between Naga and Kuki communities
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStock

A teen was shot dead by suspected militants in Manipur’s Tamenglong district on Monday (September 21, 2026), police said.

The Naga youth, identified as NK Wiphenbou (17), was walking alone from Upper Nkou village to Tamei town when he was attacked around 10.30 am.

Naga village volunteers later found his body along a narrow path, they said.

Also read: Four Naga civilians killed in Manipur ambush

More than 40 people have been killed since clashes broke out between Naga and Kuki communities in February, officials said.

Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, Noney, Ukhrul and Kamjong remained the most affected districts due to clashes between the two tribes in the state.

Published – September 21, 2026 03:47 pm IST

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Manipur musician killed in Delhi; eight held for mob lynching

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 16:34:00 +0000

A musician from Manipur, Chongtham Vikram Singh, living in Delhi’s Ashram area, died on Monday of injuries suffered in an alleged assault by a group on Sunday night.

The Delhi Police, which registered an FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for mob lynching, arrested seven men and detained a 15-year-old boy in connection with the case. The accused packaged and delivered food from nearby dhabas and are aged between 15 and 36, police said.

In his complaint to the police, Yaiphaba, the victim’s son, said his father had told him on the way to the hospital that people from a nearby dhaba had attacked him. Some of them had previously threatened Singh after he complained of excessive noise, the complaint said.

Singh, a guitarist and musician from Imphal, has been part of rock bands but has not been working for the past few years. He has been performing for years and was also a music teacher.

Former Manipur Chief Minister and BJP leader N. Biren Singh said he was “deeply saddened” and “deeply concerned by the incident”. “With evidence now emerging in connection with the incident, I urge the Delhi Police to take swift and appropriate action, thoroughly investigate the matter, and ensure that justice is delivered at the earliest,” he said.

The Delhi Police registered an FIR against unknown persons under Sections 103(2) (involves murder on the grounds of race, caste or community by a group of five or more persons) and 3(5) (crimes committed by a group with common intent) of BNS.

Delhi Police said that “the circumstances leading to his assault and death are being ascertained and necessary legal action is being taken as per law”. Police have identified the arrested as Bharat Kumar, Pramod, Ramzan Khan, Deepanshu, Mohan Vishwakarma, Vijay, and Mannu.

Around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday, Yaiphaba and his mother were at home when they heard loud noises and Singh screaming. Yaiphaba said that when he opened the door, he found four to five people assaulting his father, “kicking and punching him”. When he raised an alarm and tried to stop them, the attackers fled. Yaiphaba said he had seen the faces of some attackers.

Yaiphaba and his mother took Singh to a private hospital in a taxi, where he died on Monday morning. His family members said the body was taken to the All Institute of Medical Sciences for a post-mortem.

The North East Media Forum “strongly” condemned the killing and demanded the “strictest possible action against all those responsible for the assault and death”. It said that while the motive is being investigated, “any possibility of racial or identity-based targeting must be thoroughly examined”. It said that it was deeply concerned about the “growing reports and incidents of targeted violence, intimidation, and discrimination against people from the Northeast, particularly where racial prejudice or discriminatory attitudes may be involved”. It urged the Delhi Police to ensure that people from the Northeast “live and work with dignity and without fear” in the city.

Published – September 07, 2026 10:04 pm IST

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Woman’s murder: couple arrested in Manipur being brought to Chennai

admin — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 18:25:00 +0000

Nearly a month after a woman was murdered in Chennai and her dismembered body parts were found inside an abandoned trolley bag on board the Tamil Nadu Express at Agra Cantonment, the Guduvanchery police have arrested a couple from Manipur in the case.

The arrested — Manik Uddin Laskar and Bhagabati Majhi — are being brought to Chennai after obtaining a prisoner of transit warrant from the judicial magistrate of Jirbham district in the northeastern State. A senior officer of the Tambaram Police Commissionerate said the team was expected to reach Chennai on Sunday night. “Only after the suspects are brought to the city and interrogated the entire the murder plot could be found,” the officer said.

The police had arrested the couple on Saturday in connection with the murder of a 38-year-old woman in Guduvanchery, whose decomposed and dismembered body parts were found stuffed inside a trolley bag aboard the Chennai-New Delhi Tamil Nadu Express at Agra earlier this month. While Laskar hails from Dakshin Krishnapur, Sonabarighat, in Assam’s Cachar district his wife Bhagabati Majhi is from Odisha.

The murder came to light on August 5, when the body was found in the rear general compartment of the Tamil Nadu Express in Agra. The Agra Railway Police launched an investigation.

After being informed, the Government Railway Police at the Chennai Central railway station and the Railway Protection Force examined CCTV footage from Platform 4 and spotted a man and a woman carrying a suspicious trolley bag and boarding the train. Their movements led investigators to Guduvanchery, where they identified a rented house on Masuthi Street in which the couple had allegedly been staying with another woman. The deceased was later identified as Hayathun Nisha, 38, wife of Jahhur Khan and a native of Jagatsinghpur in Odisha. She stayed in Guduvanchery and worked at a private firm.

The police found Laskar and Bhagabati had gone missing. During the investigation, the police also recovered body parts from a cooking vessel on the premises. Tambaram City Police Commissioner Prem Anand Sinha formed a special team to trace the suspects. A senior police officer said the team travelled to a remote and difficult-to-access area of Manipur in search of Laskar. The team stayed in the area for more than a week and tracked his movements before locating him. “The area was remote, we could not move around much during the day, and it was also raining there. The team camped for more than a week and eventually traced the accused,” the officer said.

The police said the motive for the murder would be established only after the couple was brought to Tambaram and questioned.

Published – August 30, 2026 11:55 pm IST

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Three injured in clash during highway blockade in Manipur

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:57:00 +0000

At least three people were injured in a clash between Kuki protesters enforcing a highway shutdown and security personnel in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Monday (June 22, 2026).

Kuki civil society organisations had called the shutdown on National Highway 37 on Sunday (June 22, 2026) to protest “selective security operations” allegedly targeting villages inhabited by the Kuki-Zo people.

Several groups of protesters converged in the New Keithelmanbi stretch of the highway in the morning to restrict vehicular movement and demand the withdrawal of the ongoing security operations. The highway connects Manipur’s capital Imphal with Jiribam on the State’s border with Assam.

The situation escalated after the security personnel used crowd-control measures, including smoke bombs and baton charges. At least three protestors were injured in the ensuing melee.

The local unit of the Kuki Inpi, an apex community organisation, condemned the “aggressive and forceful dispersal of peaceful protesters” with “tear gas shells, blank ammunition, and batons”.

Criticising the authorities for failing to address public concerns, the Kuki Inpi unit blamed the ongoing ethnic tensions on two Naga armed groups — the National Socialist Council of Nagalim and the Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front.

Blockade lifted

Later in the day, the Committee on Tribal Unity announced the withdrawal of its blockade on NH 2 (Kohima-Imphal connector) and NH 37 following an understanding with the government.

The organisation, representing the Kuki-Zo group of communities, said the blockade was lifted in the interest of public safety and peace after assurances from the Kangpokpi Superintendent of Police that essential commodities would be transported safely to Kuki-Zo villages.

Meanwhile, a group of women activists in Imphal submitted a memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, demanding the “immediate and unconditional release” of four members of the radical Arambai Tenggol.

These four were among 10 people arrested on June 19 by the National Investigation Agency in six different cases of ethnic violence in Manipur.

“The Arambai Tenggol is not an armed group but a socio-cultural organisation formed to preserve and protect the identity of the Meitei community,” Thokchom Chandrasakhi Devi, one of the activists, told journalists after submitting the memorandum to the office of the Governor.

Published – June 22, 2026 10:27 pm IST

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Manipur families seek release of Kuki, Naga captives

admin — Sun, 17 May 2026 16:04:00 +0000

Kuki-Zo organisations said 14 more of their community members, including three minor students, remain in captivity.
| Photo Credit: Civil Society Organisation/ANI

The families of 14 abducted Kuki-Zo people in Manipur’s hill districts renewed their appeal for their safe release, as the deadline set by an apex Naga organisation for the State government to track their missing community members expired on Sunday (May 17, 2026) evening.

More than 40 Kuki-Zo and Naga people, including women and minors, were held captives by suspected extremists after three church leaders belonging to the Thadou tribe were ambushed and killed by unknown gunmen on May 13. The captors released 28 hostages — 14 each from both communities — on May 15.

Kuki-Zo organisations said 14 more of their community members, including three minor students, remain in captivity. According to a Liangmai (Naga) women’s union in Kangpokpi district, six Nagas continue to be held hostage.

“We address you today not with the language of politics, conflict or adversaries but with the raw, heartfelt cry of mothers, fathers, wives, and children. We are the families of the 13 individuals from Taphou Kuki village and one from Hengbung village who are still in custody since May 13,” the families wrote in the joint appeal on Sunday.

They said most of the captives did not take part in the conflict and that many of those detained could be suffering from failing health, psychological trauma, and severe distress.

“Every passing hour inflicts profound, agonising torment on our family,” the families said, adding that mothers, fathers, and children were living in a state of unbearable grief, praying daily for the safety of their loved ones.

Recalling a “history of peace, mutual respect, and brotherhood” between Kuki and Naga villagers of Senapati district, the families said: “Our boys are not activists or combatants, and they have absolutely nothing to do with the wider conflict or the political storms surrounding us.”

Four hill districts — the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, and the Naga-majority Senapati and Ukhrul — have been tense since the conflict between the two tribal Christian communities began in February following a late night brawl. More than half a dozen people have been killed and scores of houses have been torched since then.

Kuki-Zo organisations imposed a 48-hour shutdown on May 13 following the killing of the church leaders, which was extended by another 48 hours due to the hostage crisis. The shutdown has hit goods transport on two arterial highways linking the Imphal Valley to the rest of the country.

The United Naga Council (UNC), which set a 2 p.m. deadline on Saturday (May 16, 2026) for the Manipur government to secure the release of Nagas missing since May 13, extended it to 6 p.m. on Sunday after receiving a letter from the State Home Department that extensive search operations were in progress. “Even after these deferments, the six Naga innocent civilians are still being held hostage by the Kuki militants, as reports have been received that the State machineries have not been able to trace and rescue them, even after well past the deadlines. Given the situation, we are constrained to launch an inter-district economic blockade along the National Highways in the Naga areas in Manipur with immediate effect until the safe rescue and release of the Naga hostages are duly carried out,” the UNC said in a statement.

Published – May 17, 2026 08:15 pm IST

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Week After President’s Rule, Manipur Governor’s 7-Day Arms Ultimatum

admin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:17 +0000

Imphal/New Delhi:

People from all communities should surrender looted and illegally held weapons and ammunition within seven days, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla said in a statement today.

No punitive action will be taken against anyone who returns such weapons within the deadline, the Governor said; however, strict action will be taken for keeping looted or illegal weapons after the seven-day deadline ends.

The state that shares an open border with Myanmar and where ethnic clashes between the Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki began nearly two years ago, is under the President’s rule.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh and his council of ministers resigned on February 9, after which the Governor placed the assembly in suspended animation, or MLAs active but without powers.

“People of Manipur, both in valley and hills, have suffered immense hardship for the last over 20 months due to a series of unfortunate incidents affecting peace and communal harmony. In the greater interest of restoring normalcy, so that people can return to their normal day-to-day activities, all communities in the state must come forward to ensure cessation of hostilities and maintenance of peace and order in the society,” Governor Bhalla said in the statement.

“It is in this regard that I sincerely request the people of all communities, particularly the youths in the valley and hills, to voluntarily come forward and surrender looted and illegally held weapons and ammunition to the nearest police station/outpost/security forces camp within the next seven days, with effect from today,” the Governor said. “Your single act of returning these weapons can be a powerful gesture towards ensuring peace.”

“I want to assure you that no punitive action would be initiated if such weapons are returned within the stipulated time. Thereafter, strict action will be taken for possession of such weapons. The government is committed to ensuring a peaceful resolution of the situation and safeguarding the future of our youth. Let us rebuild our State together with hope and trust for a brighter future. Come forward and choose peace,” Governor Bhalla said.

Guns In Manipur

An estimated 6,000 firearms were looted from police stations and armouries across Manipur after ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, 2023. Some 4,000 firearms are still missing, sources have said. Some of the recovered firearms include American origin M series assault rifles. Approximately 30 per cent of looted weapons has been recovered so far, police sources said.

“Sophisticated weapons looted from state armouries have made their way into the Manipur ethnic conflict, posing fresh challenges for security agencies,” a Union Home Ministry official said, requesting anonymity.

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Meitei Body In Memorandum To Governor

admin — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 19:08:48 +0000

Imphal/Guwahati:

An umbrella body of civil society organisations of Manipur’s valley-dominant Meitei community has requested Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to work for restoring an elected government within a month.

President’s Rule was imposed in violence-hit Manipur on February 13 following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

Representatives of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) met Governor Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in the state capital Imphal, and submitted a 13-point memorandum that detailed steps the Governor may consider to bring peace to Manipur.

“It is evident that in the ongoing law and order crisis in Manipur, the Meetei group has no specific agenda or objective in engaging with this conflict. Rather, the crisis appears to be driven by those pursuing the demand for a separate administration,” COCOMI said in the memorandum.

COCOMI requested the Governor to work on a comprehensive initiative to identify, dismantle, and evict all illegal villages that have sprung up across the state, threatening its demographic and environmental integrity.

The civil society group said all violent activities and unauthorised movement of armed groups must be brought to a complete halt to ensure peace and stability, and requested for measures to provide security and amnesty for all affected villages and their civilian village defence forces to safeguard them from continued violence.

“The coordinator of the northeast [for] BJP has firmly assured that the territorial integrity of Manipur will be safeguarded. The coordinator must unequivocally assert that the administrative integrity of Manipur is paramount and must be safeguarded without exception, ensuring that it remains uncompromised. It is imperative that we eliminate any possibility of separate administration,” COCOMI said.

The Raj Bhavan in a statement said COCOMI convenor Kh Athouba and six others called on the Governor, and submitted a memorandum highlighting key issues pertaining to the state.

“… Governor heard their concerns and asked them to cooperate with the government in the run-up to restore harmony,” the Raj Bhavan said.

COCOMI alleged one of the root causes of the Manipur crisis is the involvement of what it called “Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist separatist groups” that have been working “in a manner similar to the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) in Myanmar, using this alignment to bargain for territorial gains within Manipur while deploying expendable Kuki militants in a proxy war and counter insurgency operations under the guise of loyalty” to India.

READ | ‘Manipur Crisis Driven By Those Pursuing Separate Administration’: Meitei Body In Memorandum To Governor

“The Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement since 2008, which has enabled militancy, must be thoroughly reviewed and dismantled. The leadership of these groups, including UPF leader Thanglianpau Guite (former MP in Myanmar) and KNO leader PS Haokip (originally from Somra Track, Myanmar), underscores their foreign origins,” COCOMI said in the memorandum.

“The state urgently requires reestablishment of law and order across both hills and plains, immediate relief and financial assistance for those affected, reconstruction of destroyed villages with adequate security measures, rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), ensuring their safe return to their respective homes and villages, and free and secure access to healthcare, education, and transport facilities, including uninterrupted and safe movement along national highways,” COCOMI said.

Had a fruitful and meaningful discussion with the Hon’ble Governor of Manipur today. All key issues were thoroughly explained and acknowledged, paving the way for a better resolution of the state’s chronic problems, which have been exacerbated by immense cross-border pressures… pic.twitter.com/TyYRfIdwvq

— Khuraijam Athouba (@Paari_Athouba) February 17, 2025

Some 24 Kuki-Zo militant groups come under two umbrella organisations for the purpose of negotiations – the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) led by the KNA, and the United People’s Front (UPF) led by the Zomi Revolutionary Army. The KNO and the UPF representing all the others have signed the SoO agreement with the Centre and the Manipur government. Under this agreement, the militants are to stay at designated camps and their weapons kept in locked storage, to be monitored regularly.

The state government has been demanding to end the SoO agreement over allegations that SoO-linked militants have been taking part in the Manipur violence, as also militants from several banned Meitei groups that had nearly been eradicated from Manipur in the last 10 years, only to return from their hideouts in neighbouring Myanmar after the breakout of ethnic clashes in May 2023.

READ | End Ceasefire With All Kuki-Zo Insurgent Groups: Manipur Assembly Unanimous Resolution

The SoO agreement is reviewed by a joint monitoring group every year; its last review was in February 2024, but little is known about the current status of the agreement.

Meitei leaders have alleged the SoO groups have been working to strengthen themselves over the years by taking advantage of the ceasefire, until a time came to engineer a violent attack for a separate land. Geopolitical analysts have speculated the Kuki armed groups were used as mercenaries to fight Meitei and Naga militants operating in the India-Myanmar border – while the SoO groups’ demand for separate territory carved out of Manipur is the unintended side effect of that alleged policy.

The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

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Protest Against President’s Rule Continues In Manipur, Meiteis Demand Rollback

admin — Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:34:53 +0000

Guwahati:

Days after President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur, protests could be seen at different parts of Valley areas. While the Kuki-dominated hill districts welcomed the Central government’s decision, the civil society organisations based in Meitei-dominated valley districts have been demanding the revocation of the decision.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity demanded the revocation of President’s Rule and asked the Central Government to reinstate the popular government.

Ten MLAs from the Kuki community, however, have welcomed the decision.

Different women’s groups from Imphal East gathered at Thumbutgong Brahmapur areas today and shouted slogans, demanding a popular government in the state as soon as possible.

Talking to media persons, woman volunteer BM Roji said people are angry and suffering due to political instability in the state. Different Meira Paibi organisations are protesting against the Central government’s decision to impose President’s Rule, she said.

After many tribal organisations of Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities, 10 Manipur tribal MLAs, who have also been demanding separate administrations or a Union Territory with the legislature for tribals in the state, expressed hope today that the Centre would lay out a comprehensive political roadmap for peace.

The ten tribal legislators, of which seven belong to the BJP, while acknowledging the Centre’s decision to place the Manipur Assembly under suspended animation, expressed hope that the government would lay out a comprehensive political roadmap for peace and justice under a negotiated settlement.

“We also look forward to time-bound measures to end the sufferings that the conflict-affected and internally displaced people continue to undergo,” the MLAs said in a joint statement.

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7 Suspected Kuki National Army, 4 Meitei Militants Arrested In Manipur: Police

admin — Sun, 16 Feb 2025 07:41:23 +0000

Imphal/New Delhi:

Eleven militants have been arrested in Manipur in the last two days, including seven suspected militants of the Kuki National Army (KNA), the police said on Sunday. The KNA is a signatory to the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement. The suspected KNA militants were arrested from Old Khaukual area in Churachandpur on Friday, the police said.

In another operation on Saturday at Huikap village in Imphal East district, four members of the Meitei militant group Kangleipak Communist Party (People’s War Group), or KCP(PWG), including two women were arrested, the police said. They were found carrying two AK assault rifles, pistols, ammunition, incriminating documents and booklets, the police said.

Following the imposition of President’s Rule with the house in suspended animation (assembly not dissolved), the security forces have been carrying out operations across the state to dismantle bunkers and disarm people from both sides who call themselves village volunteers.

The Kuki tribes are calling for the arrest of Arambai Tenggol chief Korounganba Khuman, alleging he heads a radical Meitei outfit. The Meiteis have pointed back at hundreds of Kuki youths carrying assault rifles under numerous banners of ‘volunteers’, who the Meiteis say are infested with highly trained Kuki militants.

What is clear, however, is civilians from both sides cannot carry weapons like assault rifles under the name of volunteering, police sources said, adding the President’s Rule will ensure all are disarmed.

The frequency of arrests – at least those announced by the police on X (formerly Twitter) – has increased in recent weeks.

The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

The SoO agreement is reviewed by a joint monitoring group every year; its last review was in February 2024, but little is known about the current status of the agreement.

On 14.02.2025, Security Forces conducted area domination and patrolling in general area south of village Old Khaukual under Sangaikot-PS, Churachandpur District. During the operation, the following persons were arrested along with arms, ammunitions and other items. The arrestees… pic.twitter.com/FuwkaAtnG7

— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) February 15, 2025

The KCP – before several versions of it mushroomed – is among the eight Meitei militant groups in the Home Ministry’s list of banned organisations.

The KCP(PWG) is likely being used as “hired guns” to attack civilians and carry out extortion in the valley areas to keep tension simmering, state intelligence sources had told NDTV in December 2024 based on early investigation. They declined to say who hired these militants to create terror in the valley areas, citing the investigation was at an early stage.

The security forces will intensify operations to disarm people from both the warring communities and dismantle all illegal fortifications, the police said.

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President’s Rule Will Pave Way For Political Settlement: Kuki-Zo Council

admin — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 18:17:10 +0000

Imphal:

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) in a statement said it has received positively the government’s imposition of President’s Rule in the violence-hit state, and the move will help pave the way for political settlements and peaceful coexistence.

“We are hopeful it (President’s Rule) would pave the way for due political settlements and peaceful coexistence (of Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribals) as good neighbours,” KZC secretary (information) Khaikhohauh Gangte said.

Referring to comments by BJP’s northeast incharge Sambit Patra that Manipur’s territorial integrity will not be touched, the KZC in a statement said, “Patra may be unaware or has chosen not to be aware that Meitei physically violated Manipur’s territorial integrity on May 3, 2023, when they massacred, attacked church buildings, destroyed the homes, and forcefully displaced the Kuki-Zo people from the Imphal valley.”

The KZC alleged the government led by former chief minister N Biren Singh carried out “ethnic cleansing”, which led to the separation of Kuki-Zo tribes and the valley-dominant Meiteis demographically and physically.

“Kuki-Zo are not separatists, Meiteis have separated Kuki-Zo from Manipur. More than 250 Kuki-Zo people have died in this ethnic conflict, over 7,000 Kuki-Zo homes have been destroyed, more than 360 places of worship have been set on fire or destroyed, and more than 40,000 Kuki-Zo people have become homeless,” the KZC said in the statement.

Mr Patra in Imphal on Friday said the 60-member state assembly was put under suspended animation, meaning the assembly can be revived whenever the President deems it fit.

“The BJP government is committed to continuing peace efforts in the state and to maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur. There would be no compromise on the territorial integrity of the state. Illegal infiltration into Manipur would not be allowed in any circumstances and such attempts would be dealt with severely,” Mr Patra had told reporters.

Speculation is that the BJP is trying to choose a leader who will be acceptable among all communities – Kuki-Zo-Hmar, Naga tribes, and the non-tribal Meiteis. The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

Separate Administration Demand

Kuki groups, including militant organisations that represent their tribes and that signed the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the Centre and the state government, have pointed at the ethnic clashes as the reason why they escalated their demand from an autonomous council to a separate administration, or a Union Territory with an assembly.

The World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC), however, in a memorandum to Manipur’s new Governor on January 15 said the Kuki tribes have been demanding a state “since 1946-47.”

The internally displaced people from both communities are yet to return home.

Kuki leaders have said a “political solution” in the form of a separate administration should be discussed first before any other issues, including the return of thousands of people living in relief camps.

Meitei leaders have, however, cited this condition placed by the Kuki leaders as a deceitful attempt to set up a narrative for an ethnocentric homeland demand; the Meitei leaders’ argument is that talks can go on while at the same time people living in difficult conditions in the camps can also return home since no territory is ethnic exclusive.

The demand for an ethnocentric homeland is untenable and obsolete in Manipur, where at least 35 communities co-exist, a group of activists and academics from the violence-hit state bordering Myanmar had said at a side event of the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva in October.

Over 250 have died and 60,000 have been internally displaced in the Manipur clashes.

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