IMPHAL: The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a conglomerate of several civil society organisations, while expressing its “grave concern and deep anguish” over the ongoing situation of arson and burning that have erupted between Tangkhul and Kuki groups in Litan village, Ukhrul district, since February 7, 2026, has termed it as not isolated or accidental. “They are yet another tragic manifestation of a long and carefully engineered crisis that has been imposed upon the people of Manipur through proxy politics and deliberate institutional negligence”, the COCOMI said in a statement.
The COCOMI said that, while the people of Manipur bleed and burn, there are those in New Delhi who appear to be celebrating the harvest of their twenty years of so-called investment. “What we are witnessing today is not an accident of history, but the predictable outcome of a policy architecture that has relied on proxy forces, selective silence, and deceptive frameworks such as the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact”, the COCOMI alleged. This pact was never about genuine peace, it also said. It has functioned as an instrument of control, leverage, and long-term destabilisation of Manipur’s social fabric, the COCOMI added.
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The statement then said the violence in Litan village must be seen in this larger context. In this turmoil, nobody will be a winner—except the deep state that thrives on division, fragmentation, and internal strife among indigenous communities, the COCOMI stated. “The bitter fruits of this politics are now visible everywhere: broken communities, burnt homes, displaced families, and a society being pushed to fight itself. While this strategy bears fruit for its architects in New Delhi, it is the natives of Manipur who continue to pay the price in blood, tears, and ashes”, the COCOMI added.
The COCOMI then “records its deep dissatisfaction and strongest condemnation” of the role of the Indian security forces deployed in the affected areas. “Once again, they have remained silent spectators while houses were set ablaze in broad daylight, in full view of their presence. No effective or credible control measures were taken to stop the violence, protect civilian lives, or prevent the destruction of property”, the statement alleged. Such inaction and passivity are not new, it also said. This pattern of conduct has been repeatedly witnessed over the past two and a half years of crisis in Manipur, raising serious questions about complicity, selective enforcement, and the real objectives behind these deployments, it further added.
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The COCOMI then said it has consistently held both the state and central agencies accountable for what has happened and what continues to happen in Manipur. “Though the present conflict involves different actors, particularly in the context of Kuki related violence, the pattern of narrative management, administrative attitude, and operational behaviour of the central forces remains disturbingly the same,” it said. This continuity only reinforces public distrust and deepens the sense that Manipur is being subjected to a proxy war rather than being protected as a constituent state of the Union, the COCOMI added.
The COCOMI then “strongly” cautioned that the situation in Litan village carries a serious risk of escalation and spillover into other parts of the hill areas of Manipur. “If this violence is not immediately and decisively contained, it may trigger a wider cycle of retaliation and communal polarisation, further endangering lives, livelihoods, and social harmony across the region”, it cautioned. In this context, the COCOMI reaffirmed the resolutions adopted at the massive public rally of January 31, 2026, which clearly identified and condemned the “proxy war being waged by the Indian state against the people of Manipur”. The recent developments in Ukhrul district only serve to further justify and validate those resolutions, the COCOMI said.
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“What is unfolding today is not merely a failure of law and order; it is the consequence of a political and security approach that has normalised conflict, enabled armed proxies, and treated the suffering of the people of Manipur as collateral damage”, it added.
The COCOMI then called upon the authorities to immediately take concrete, transparent, and impartial measures to stop the violence, protect civilians, and hold accountable those responsible, both on the ground and within the chain of command. More importantly, the COCOMI called upon the people of Manipur to remain vigilant against external manipulation and divisive designs. “If we fail to recognise and resist this imposed conflict, we will continue to bleed and burn for someone else’s game”, it further cautioned.