Kangpokpi: Thousands across Sadar Hills in Kangpokpi district on Sunday congregated at Martyrs’ Cemetery, Phaijang, in a solemn observation of the “Separation Day,” marking three years since the Manipur conflict erupted on May 3, 2023.
The observance was accompanied by a 12-hour total shutdown across Sadar Hills, during which business establishments, private and educational institutions remained closed, and vehicular movement—barring emergency services—came to a standstill.
At Martyrs’ Cemetery, Phaijang, under the aegis of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), the central programme unfolded in an atmosphere marked by grief and remembrance. Thousands of Kuki-Zo people gathered alongside prominent leaders and civil society organisations, united in mourning and a shared call for dignity and peace.
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Mourners offered floral tributes and bowed in silence before the graves of those killed in the violence. Each garland placed symbolised sacrifice and loss, as families and community members paid homage to the deceased.
The ceremony reached a solemn high point with a respectful parade and a traditional gun salute by Kuki-Zo volunteers, underscoring collective remembrance for those who lost their lives. A minute’s silence was also observed by those assembled at the cemetery.
During the event, CoTU Joint Secretary Lamminlun Singsit read out an eight-point declaration earlier adopted by the Kuki-Zo people, reaffirming their commitment to its demands.
CoTU spokesperson Ng. Lun Kipgen, addressing the gathering, invoked the words of India’s first Prime Minister, stating, “The field of battles lie before you, the flag of India beckons you; who lives in India dies, and who dies if India lives,” to highlight what he described as an erosion of democratic values in the region.
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“The Kuki-Zo community, having witnessed such travesty of justice for the past three tumultuous years under tyrant leadership espousing fascism, cannot but observe this day with sobriety,” he said, paying tribute to those who “sacrificed their lives to defend land, homes, pride and dignity.”
Describing the occasion as both remembrance and resistance, Kipgen termed the community a “testament to the nefarious design of governance,” alleging prolonged ethnic and religious persecution.
Calling for unity, he urged the Kuki-Zo people to “shun all differences” and come together to reclaim their “fair share of legitimacy shed by the blood of fallen heroes.”
He also reiterated the demand for freedom “from tyranny,” while asserting that any future course must remain “within the confines of the Constitution of India and nothing less.”
Observed monthly as “Remembrance Day” and annually as “Separation Day” amid ongoing ethnic tensions in Manipur, the occasion has increasingly emerged as a focal point for political messaging by Kuki-Zo civil society groups, reflecting deepening fault lines in the state.
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Additionally, the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) has observed today as the ‘Separation Day, a day of total separation from the Meiteis’ with collective resolve, strength, and firm faith. “As three years have passed under untold suffering, we remember and honour the sacrifices of our fallen Martvrs, and celebrate the courage and resiliency of our people in the face of uncertainty through immense suffering and adversity.
The KIM also alleged what it perceives as a continued pattern of systemic discrimination, selective action, and institutional bias under the Manipur State Government. It highlighted the ‘arbitrary arrest’ of Otkhothang Baite, a former Chairman of Canan Veng (HTC Unit-XI), as an example. It also emphasized that, since May 3, 2023, countless Kuki-Zo victims have continued to live with the deep and lasting trauma of unimaginable atrocities inflicted upon them. “While many still struggle to survive as internally displaced persons, many others are deprived of stability, livelihood, and basic human dignity. The crisis has penetrated and severely impacted every aspect of the lives of the Kuki-Zo people -social, economic, and psychological,” it said.
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The Kuki Inpi Manipur then reiterated its long-standing demand for the creation of a Union Territory with a Legislature under Article 239A of the Constitution of India. “In the face of prolonged conflict, systemic discrimination, and the continued failure of the existing state structure to guarantee protection and equal treatment, the present arrangement is neither sustainable nor just. The Kuki-Zo people have endured immense suffering and can no longer be forced to exist under conditions that deny them dignity, justice, and constitutional safeguards,” it stated, while urging the Kuki-Zo community to remain united and steadfast in pursuit of justice.