Ukhrul, September 20: The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has strongly condemned the ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy by suspected Meitei militants at Nambol Sabal Leikai in Bishnupur district, an area not under AFSPA, at around 5:50 pm on September 19. The attack claimed the lives of two Assam Rifles personnel and left five others critically injured.
In a statement, the council termed the incident cowardly and brutal, alleging it once again exposed the violent, anti-national, and secessionist character of the Meitei militant groups.
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The KZC said the incident revived the painful memory of the 2021 killing of Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife, and young son by Meitei militants, stressing that such repeated assaults on India’s security forces are part of a continuing pattern of hostility against the Indian State. It stated that history has shown these militants reject the idea of India and thrive on violence and terror.
Referring to the 2023 violence, the KZC accused the majority Meitei community of atrocities against the minority Kuki-Zo, claiming that more than 250 innocent lives were lost, women raped, bodies mutilated, over 7,000 homes and 360 places of worship destroyed, and more than 40,000 people displaced. The council described these actions as ethnic cleansing, saying they reflect the brutality and complete absence of humanity, sympathy, and compassion.
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The statement further alleged that for decades the Meitei have exploited and monopolized development funds meant for the tribal population in the hills, leaving the Kuki-Zo people deprived and neglected. It added that this has now extended to the systematic expulsion of the Kuki-Zo people from their lands.
Citing cumulative evidence of violence, discrimination, and oppression, the KZC declared that peaceful coexistence under the same administrative framework with the Meiteis was no longer possible. It urged the Government of India to recognize the gravity of the situation and pave the way for a political settlement at the earliest.