IMPHAL, JUNE 2: Zeliangrong intellectuals under the banner of Luangdimai Sentinel said today that the unfolding “Naga-Kuki crisis, which has caused immense suffering, displacement, fear, and uncertainty” to the ordinary people of Manipur since the beginning of February 2026, cannot be resolved through political expediency, selective narratives, or coercive pressures. It said sustainable peace can only be built upon truth, accountability, and justice.
In this regard, the Luangdimai Sentinel placed demands and questions before the Government of India, the Government of Manipur, concerned civil society organisations, and all stakeholders for impartial investigation into the May 13 ambush and abduction. It demanded the immediate constitution of an impartial and time-bound investigation into the circumstances leading to the ambush that killed the 3 Thadou pastors and the abduction of the 18 Naga hostages that included 2 Naga pastors on May 13. The Luangdimai Sentinel said findings of the investigation must be made public within a clearly specified timeframe. “These tragic events have become one of the key triggers for the present Naga-Kuki crisis that continue to fuel suspicion, mistrust, and competing narratives. Truth and accountability are indispensable for a closure”, it added.
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The Luangdimai Sentinel demanded unconditional release of the 6 Naga hostages. “We demand the immediate and unconditional release of the 6 Naga hostages taken by Kuki militants from Leilon Vaiphei village on May 13. Their continued captivity has become the central obstacle to restoring normalcy and has prolonged the present impasse affecting the people of Manipur. Everyone from Leilon village accused of complicity in the abduction of innocent Naga hostages must be investigated and brought to justice”, it stated.
The Luangdimai Sentinel wanted accountability of Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) and Manipur deputy chief minister Nemcha Kipgen. It said the denial of knowledge regarding the 6 Naga hostages by KIM, the apex body of the Kuki people, does not absolve it of moral or political responsibility. The public has a right to know what efforts have been undertaken to ascertain the whereabouts of the 6 Naga hostages and secure their release, it added.
Furthermore, as a responsible member of the Government of Manipur, Nemcha Kipgen, the deputy chief minister, “in whose political turf the tragic May 13 ambush and abduction took place, owes explanation to the people of Manipur not silence”, said the Luangdimai Sentinel.
It then sought an explanation from the Government of Manipur as to why the 6 Naga men who were taken away from Leilon Vaiphei village on May 13, 2026 in the presence of their wives, children, and fellow villagers have been described merely as “missing persons” by the Home
Secretary, Government of Manipur, in a letter addressed to the president of UNC dated May 31. “The deliberate use of this terminology diminishes the gravity of the criminal act, obscures accountability, and diverts public attention from the serious nature of the criminal act”, it also stated.
The Luangdimai Sentinel then said the Government of India must respond to persistent allegations that it is pursuing a dangerous policy of allowing and encouraging a proxy conflict between Kuki militant groups and Naga armed groups. “These allegations require clarification. A small and ethnically sensitive state like Manipur cannot afford policies that place innocent civilians in the crossfire of competing armed actors”, it added.
The Luangdimai Sentinel also said the indigenous people of Manipur cannot be expected to bear the consequences of the Government of India’s failed Act East Policy and its mismanagement of Southeast Asian geopolitical affairs. The unmanned porous international border, flow of drugs and weapons and the demographic invasion into Manipur have been flagged by indigenous natives of Manipur as another proxy conflict, it also said, adding, “If this indifference to proxy conflict policy continues and a corrective measure is not taken now, the conflict will only escalate and not be manageable soon as many scholars and observers have consistently warned”.
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The Luangdimai Sentinel then asked, “When Kuki individuals accused of taking Naga hostages and indiscriminately opening fire on villagers continue to move freely despite police complaints and public knowledge of the incidents, how can the Government of Manipur expect its citizens to trust its commitment to enforcing the ground rules of the Suspension of Operation (SoO), including rationalisation or relocation of camps from Naga-inhabited areas as stated in the Home Secretary letter to the UNC president?”
It reiterated the public demand for credible actions: abrogation of SoO, relocation of SoO camps from Naga ancestral land, not empty assurances which are not worth the paper on which it is written. (see the Home secretary’s May 31 letter).
The Zeliangrong intellectuals then said they are advocates of the safe release of the ‘Kuki detainees’. “But the release must be reciprocal with that of the 6 Naga hostages”, it said, while asking, “So then how and why was the decision taken by the United Naga Council (UNC) to facilitate or support the release of Kuki detainees without securing the reciprocal release of the 6 Naga hostages on June 1, 2026?” It further asked, “Was adequate consultation conducted with the affected families and communities?” Many perceive this as an act of insensitivity toward the anguish of the hostages’ families and the broader Naga public by the UNC and the Government of Manipur, it added.
The Luangdimai Sentinel then said the government’s attempt to use the NIA as a form of intimidation to arrest dissidents and silence legitimate questions and public grievances will only deepen mistrust. (See the Home Secretary’s Letter). Democratic societies are strengthened when citizens receive accountability and justice from the government, it stated.
The Luangdimai Sentinel then said Manipur is one of the most militarised zones in the country since India’s independence. Army generals have gone on record stating that political will and imagination are the way to solutions not military. “But the government is expanding military footprints everywhere without any tangible result but public distrust over the partisan role it is asked to undertake. The government must not destroy the apolitical tradition, morale and image of the institution that has helped build a secure and safe India”, it also said.
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The sentinel then said peace cannot be built upon silence, selective accountability, or the suffering of forgotten victims. “Calls for peace that ignore justice merely postpone conflict into the future. The path to peace lies in truth, reconciliation, and equality under the law of the land”.
The Luangdimai Sentinel, therefore, reiterated its demands for a transparent investigation, the immediate release of the 6 Naga hostages for a reciprocal hostage exchange of the ‘Kuki detainees’, and truthful accountability from all concerned parties.