IMPHAL: The Thadou Inpi Manipur (IM) said it came to know that a Kuki delegation led by MLA Haokholet Kipgen, together with representatives of Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) and the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), “reportedly acting on behalf of Kuki Suspension of Operation (SoO) groups, travelled by road to Imphal on Wednesday to meet Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh. “While any engagement in the state capital is ordinarily welcome, the timing, nature, and purpose of this visit raise grave questions”, the Thadou body said.
TIM then said those who have relentlessly championed the violent Kuki campaign for a “Separate Administration” and repeatedly branded Imphal a “valley of death” are now rushing to the very city they vilified, at a moment when Manipur and the wider Northeast are reeling from the horrific killing of six innocent Naga civilians, including two pastors, allegedly at the hands of Kuki militants linked to SoO groups associated with one of the two Deputy Chief Ministers of Manipur.
It said this development bears all the hallmarks of a desperate damage-control exercise aimed at safeguarding political power, protecting the office of the Deputy Chief minister, influencing investigations, and shielding the real perpetrators from accountability. “It appears to be an attempt to manipulate public perception while diverting attention away from those alleged to be operating under the cover of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement”, the Thadou body added.
Also Read | The Day Justice Was Tear-Gased at RIMS: Delhi’s SoO Mask Finally Came Off
“We are not surprised. Thadou Inpi Manipur has long warned the people of Manipur about the methods and ambitions of ideologically driven and violence-oriented Kuki groups”, the TIM claimed, adding, “Their pattern is unmistakable: provoke conflict, escalate tensions, target communities, and then portray themselves as victims”. It is now openly recognised that Kuki militant networks wield disproportionate influence over state resources, government machinery, and public funds in pursuit of Kuki-supremacist objectives, the Thadou body also said. “This is why many increasingly regard Kuki militancy not merely as tolerated, but as effectively state-enabled under the framework of the SoO agreement”, it stated.
Thadou Inpi Manipur and “other genuine Thadou organisations” have repeatedly warned that a violent Kuki-supremacist agenda would ultimately leave its proponents isolated from every neighbouring community, the TIM said. “That warning has become reality. Today, Kukis remain locked in conflict with the Meitei community in the valley while facing renewed violence with the Nagas in the hills. Having exhausted much of the goodwill, resources, and support that once sustained their campaign, they now appear to be scrambling for a political exit while attempting to preserve a rapidly collapsing narrative of victimhood”, the Thadou body also said.
The TIM then said the Government of India’s prolonged policy of Kuki appeasement has come at an enormous cost to the people of Manipur and to regional peace and stability. The Thadou body also said the institutionalisation of communal considerations in governance, particularly in the formation of the present state government, has fuelled division, encouraged communal politics, emboldened militancy, and undermined public confidence in public institutions. It added that equally dangerous is the persistent mischaracterisation of Manipur as a tri-ethnic state when it is, in reality, a diverse multi-ethnic society. “These flawed assumptions have contributed significantly to the past and present crises and must be abandoned if lasting peace and stability are to be achieved”.
Also Read | Restoring Lasting Peace Needs Cooperation: Manipur CM
The TIM also said equally alarming is the government’s failure to swiftly apprehend those responsible for recent atrocities. “No arrests have been made in connection with the massacre of three Thadou pastors in a Kuki militant-dominated area between Kotlen and Kotzim villages on May 13. Likewise, despite widespread reports identifying suspects, no decisive action has followed the barbaric killing of six Naga civilians, whose bodies were recovered in a severely mutilated, dismembered, and beheaded condition, amid allegations that their flesh was cooked and fed to their wives during Kuki captivity”, the TIM also said. The killing of Thadou man Nehkam Jomhao in Assam in August 2025 by Kuki SoO militants bears disturbing similarities to the extreme brutality seen in these latest atrocities, it added.
The Thadou body then said there is growing suspicion that the perpetrators behind the massacre of the three Thadou pastors and the killing of the six Naga civilians—both occurring on the same day and within the same Kuki-militant-dominated geographical area—may be the same individuals, the same group, or members of interconnected networks. “As scrutiny intensifies and the world becomes increasingly aware of the brutality associated with Kuki militancy, there appears to be a concerted effort to evade accountability, deflect blame, and preserve a carefully cultivated Kuki narrative of victimhood. We caution the Chief Minister, government authorities, and the people of Manipur to remain vigilant against attempts to manipulate investigations, distort public discourse, and obstruct justice”, the TIM further said. The Chief Minister has, by some critics, been infamously dubbed a “Kuki Chief Minister”—a perception that can only be dispelled through impartial governance, transparent investigations, and equal application of the law, the Thadou body stated, adding, “Only by resisting political pressure, ensuring accountability, and upholding justice without fear or favour can Manipur reclaim its legacy of peace, communal harmony, justice, and coexistence”.
