Kangpokpi: Indefinite Shutdown on SP Road continues, Konsakhul village refutes

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Ukhrul, Jan 12: The indefinite shutdown imposed on the SP Road (Sak-Makhan-Khunkhu-Machangram-K.Lungwiram-Puilong) by Liangmai Koubru Range Women Union in protest against the assault of a Naga woman by alleged Kuki volunteers continues as negotiations failed to take place owing to failure to meet demands. The women’s union had insisted that for any meeting to happen, the offending party must bring the culprits and their alleged masterminds Thangkholen (chief of L. Munlai) and Haopu (Chief of Leilon) to the table.

Two Kuki-Zo parties including the Leimakhong Area Protection Committee and Vaiphei People Council had approached the union for a negotiation today but were turned down as the Liangmai Koubru Range Women Union insisted on its earlier demands.

Notably, the SP Road is the only viable route directly connecting Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts serving as a lifeline for the Kuki-Zo community.

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On the other hand, the Konsakhul village authority has responded to Leilon Khunou’s press statement of January 9, 2025, regarding the alleged assault of a Naga woman at K. Lungwiram village under Saitu AC, Kangpoki District.

Narrating the event that took place on Jan 7, 2025, the village authority stated that on that fateful day, the woman (the alleged victim) was leveling a plot of land with the help of JCB when Kuki volunteers led by Thangkholen (chief of L. Munlai) and Haopu (Chief of Leilon) threatened and forcibly stopped her. When she ‘politely’ explained to them that the land she was working on belonged to the Nagas and it was not wise on their part to interfere in her work, the group left the site on that day and came back on January 8, 2025, at around 1100 with full force of roughly 200 Kuki volunteers.

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The Kuki mob then intimidated her by saying that although the land, in question, “belonged to Nagas” they would not allow her to carry out any construction activities in the K. Lungwiram area “during this Kuki-Meitei conflict”. The lady tried to remind the Kuki volunteers about her rights and explained that Nagas being a neutral community has nothing to do with the Kuki-Meitei conflict. However, on seeing the belligerent behaviors of the Kuki volunteers, she recorded their conversation on her mobile phone for evidence which is in our safe custody, the Konsakhul village authority said.

The village authority alleged that the Kuki volunteers brutally assaulted her, snatched her phone, and destroyed it. Thereafter, they also grabbed her neck and pulled her over the ground mercilessly at the behest of Thangkholen and Haopu without any reason, it further alleged.

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The Konsakhul Village Authority also clarified that there was no agreement/understanding between the Kukis and the Naga woman or K. Lungwiram concerning the plot leveling in the presence of SDO and OC/Leimakhong PS as they claimed. It added that it was a pre-planned drama tacitly arranged in collusion with the OC/Leimakhong PS who is also allegedly a Kuki to show that district administration was present on that day and was the witness of the incident.

“However, their lies and deceits have already been exposed by the K. Lungwiram people as the incident happened in front of them,” the village authority said.

The village authority also stated that it was unfortunate that “Kukis who claim themselves to be believers have become habitual liars without any shame or remorse”. “They are expert in deception, distortion, manipulation, concoction, and misleading of historical facts to suit their expansionist narratives. Sometimes, they claim to be a ‘Christian minority’ and the other times as ‘hill tribals’ but their lies and deceits have already been exposed through their actions,” the authority added.

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The Konsakhul village authority also recounted that in 1920, Thangkholen and Haopu’s grandparents came to Konsaram as “refugees, begging for a place to stay”.

“On humanitarian grounds and in our magnanimity, we allowed them to settle on the land of Konsaram Naga with the condition that they would pay rampon (annual house tax) to the landlord as royalty. Subsequently, an agreement was executed between the landlord (Konsaram) and tenant (Leilon) in the form of a lease valid for one hundred years. All these historical facts have been documented and kept in our safe custody. As such, Mr. Thangkholen of L. Munlai and Mr. Haopu of Leilon Khunou remain tenants, and therefore, a tenant has no authority to claim land ownership”, the village authority maintained.

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