Ukhrul, June 12: The Kuki Inpi Manipur has expressed its deep outrage and vehement condemnation of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) baseless allegation branding Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal as an insurgent group.
“The Kuki Inpi is the traditional socio-political institution and apex governing body of the Kuki people, established to preserve our customary laws, promote peace, and represent the voice of the Kuki people. The branding of such a time-honoured and revered institution as an insurgent group by the NIA is grave ignorance, irresponsibility and an alarming mischaracterisation of indigenous institutions,” Kuki Inpi Manipur said in a statement signed by its Information and Publicity secretary Janghaolun Haokip.
It also maintained that the branding of Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal, a federating unit of Kuki Inpi Manipur, as an insurgent group was not only factually wrong, but also an affront to the dignity, resilience, and self governance of the Kuki people.
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“The callous labeling of a community-rooted institution like Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal, a federating unit of Kuki Inpi Manipur, as an insurgent body is not only factually wrong, but also an affront to the dignity, resilience, and self governance of the Kuki people,” it stated.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur called upon the NIA to immediately withdraw and rectify such erroneous and inflammatory allegations, and to engage in responsible and informed dialogue with indigenous institutions rather than perpetuating narratives that may further inflame an already volatile situation.
It further warned that the Kuki-Zo people will be compelled to consider all necessary options to defend our existence, dignity, and future if this insensitivity continues unabated. However, it cautioned that institutional indifference and vilification would provoke just and determined resistance.
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