Kuki Inpi Issues Rejoinder to Govt. of Manipur’s DIPR Press Release over the Hindu Editorial

The Government of Manipur’s scurrilous allegations over ‘The Hindu’s’ editorial piece titled ‘Lame excuse: On Manipur and the ethnic conflict’ is not only an audacious attempt to defame the Kuki-Zo community but also a despicable argument and a misleading propaganda to stoke the ongoing Genocide in a bid to gain popular support and play with public sentiment, said Kuki Inpi Manipur.

In a statement issued today, the Kuki Inpi Manipur, apex body of the Kukis, pointed out “the inability of the Biren Singh government to rise above the ethnic fray and build confidence measures” and suggesting for change of “approach” and “leadership” to restore peace in the state, not only solidifies the position taken by a “neutral observer” but also exposes the position taken by the Manipur government concerning the Kuki-Zo tribal minority community in the state. Moreover, the said “press release” was unsigned by any official of the Manipur state Government, perhaps because it is full of lies and false narratives.

The Kuki Inpi refuted the outrageous claims and despicable arguments of the Manipur Government, as it directly concerns the rights and dignity of the Kuki-Zo people.

I. Claim: "The situation in Manipur is under control, and peace has been restored."
Fact: The situation in Manipur is far from under control. The reality is that the Kuki-Zo people continue to suffer from systemic violence and discrimination. Over 41,425 Kuki-Zo individuals have been displaced, 185 Kuki-Zo people have been killed, and more than 200 Kuki-Zo villages have been burned.
There are no genuine efforts for peace, no concrete steps for relief, while tensions continue to remain at a boiling point. Moreover, the recent kidnapping (May 18) of three Jharkhand natives which resulted in the killing of Shree Ram Hangsada at Naoremthong Khumanthem Takyel Kongbal, Imphal West by the Chief Minsiter’s private militias is a sad reflection on the incompetence of institutions of the state which has a potential to turn the mayhem into a revivalism of the secessionist insurgency movement posing a serious threat to the security and integrity of India.

II. Claim: "The government has taken all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of all communities."
Fact: The government's actions have been biased and grossly inadequate in addressing the ongoing crisis in the state. Thousands of looted automatic weapons and lakhs of ammunition are still being used by Meitei fundamentalists with impunity in targeting Kuki-Zo civilians, while the state government has been reduced to meekly requesting the looters to return such weapons without any result. Such incompetency and lack of action on the part of both the CM and state security forces are inexplicable. The Kuki-Zo tribals displaced by the CM's storm troopers are living in deplorable conditions in relief camps with inadequate access to medical facilities, food, clothes, decent sleeping spaces, education for children, and employment opportunities. The administration has miserably failed to protect the Kuki-Zo people from targeted violence by Meitei fundamentalists and insurgents groups such as PLA, UNLF, Arambai Tenggol, and Meitei Leepun.

III. Claim: "The allegations of bias and partiality in the government's response are unfounded and politically motivated."
Fact: The allegations of bias and partiality are not only founded but are glaringly evident in the government's actions and inactions. The Chief Minister, Biren Singh, along with his brainchild organizations like Arambai Tenggol, Meitei Leepun, and Meitei insurgent groups such as PLA and UNLF, are primarily responsible for inciting and perpetuating violence against the Kuki-Zo people. The Chief Minister can refer to the recent NIA chargesheet in the case of Moirangthem Anand Singh to cross-check his claims. The Government also needs to explain why Manipur Police provided safe passage to Meitei militants who came to attack Pallel Kuki-Zo village, or the incident in Moreh where Manipur Police went on an arson spree, burning down Kuki-Zo homes and schools. There are so many more documented incidents where the Manipur Government and Police have clearly targeted Kuki-Zo people.

IV. Claim: "Efforts have been made to facilitate reconciliation and dialogue among different communities."
Fact: The so-called efforts for reconciliation have been superficial and insincere. The rhetoric on reconciliation without addressing the root causes of violence and injustice only serves to perpetuate the vitiated atmosphere. The Kuki-Zo people demand justice and the pursuit of a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory with Legislature to ensure their safety and security, and their rights and privileges as equal citizens of the country rather than empty promises of reconciliation.

V. Claim: "Mushrooming of 'as many as 996 new villages' in Manipur 'as a result of years of illegal immigration which went unchecked and undetected.'
Fact: This is another baseless narrative concocted by the Chief Minister to justify his actions against the Kuki-Zo people. The increase in the number of villages is due to several legitimate factors such as internal displacement and customary practices. Internal displacement was primarily caused by the Kuki-Naga conflict of the 1990s, which led to a mass migration of Kuki-Zo populations from Naga-dominated districts, particularly Ukhrul and Tamenglong, to Kuki-Zo dominated districts. Additionally, the establishment of new villages is driven by customary practices such as "Inchon". There is nothing unusual about the formation of new villages; it is an established customary practice. The government should rely on official census figures to determine abnormal population growth, not the increase or decrease in the number of villages. The claim of a massive influx of illegal immigrants is entirely unsubstantiated and another lie from the Chief Minister. Decadal census data shows no such influx, with the Kuki-Zo population in Manipur consistently between 14% and 16%. The Chief Minister has been trying to cook up statistics by claiming an increase in villages and MLAs. Why doesn't he simply cite the population figures? Because he knows that they will squarely disprove all his deceitful claims.

VI. Claim: "Illegal immigrants objected to the Government's effort to detect illegal immigration."
Fact: This statement is yet another blatant lie of the Chief Minister. Which illegal immigrant has objected to the Government's drive and when, where? Why hasn't the Government arrested those who objected to their drives and deported them? Why is the Government of Manipur under CM Biren Singh targeting the entire Kuki-Zo Indian citizens under the guise of identifying "illegal immigrants?” What made the CM of Manipur and his radicalized Meitei society label the entire Kuki-Zo population as illegal immigrants and viciously target, kill, parade our sisters naked, and burn our villages? This empty slogan of illegal immigration is only a pathetic attempt by Biren Singh to dehumanize Kuki-Zo people so that he can justify his crimes against our people. Just as the Nazis referred to Jews as "vermin" in the Holocaust, and the Hutus called the Tutsis "cockroaches" during the Rwandan genocide, Biren Singh's use of the term "illegal immigrants" is a dangerous and dehumanizing tactic. It is a calculated effort to strip the Kuki-Zo people of their humanity and legitimize acts of violence and ethnic cleansing against them. This rhetoric mirrors other historical atrocities where the powerful have sought to annihilate entire communities under the guise of addressing non-existent threats. Such propaganda is not only hollow but also reprehensible, exposing the depths of Biren Singh's malicious intent.

VII. Claim: "5,457 illegal immigrants have been detected in Kamjong."
Fact: The Chief Minister's selective highlighting of data is misleading and dishonest. The majority of the detected individuals, 3,866 out of 5,457, are from other tribal villages, not Kuki-Zo villages. This discriminative selection of data aims to unfairly target and stigmatize the Kuki-Zo people, further exposing the Chief Minister's deceitful tactics. Repeated attempts to target Kuki-Zo people with such unwarranted figures amidst other prejudice-laced legal measures are nothing but stray examples of an ecosystem of hate created and sustained by the CM himself.

VIII. Claim: "The Chief Minister refers to the 1972 number of MLAs to suggest a massive influx of Kukis."
Fact: The Chief Minister needs to explain his audacious intentions behind discriminatory selection of the results for the 1972 Assembly elections. Why does he not refer to the 1967 Territorial Legislative Assembly elections for 30 seats, where Kukis won 5 out of the 9 tribal seats? Or immediately 2 years after 1972, the 1974 Assembly elections for 60 seats where Kukis won 9 out of 19 tribal seats? Or the subsequent elections in 1980 where again Kukis won 9 out of 19 tribal seats? In the years following, Kukis have consistently won 9, 10, or 11 seats. If the Chief Minister's logic is to be applied, Kukis can claim there was an unnatural influx of voters from other ethnicities in 1972 because Kukis held 55.55% of the total tribal seats in 1967, which dropped to only 31.57% of the total tribal seats in 1972. Why was there a sudden decrease in the Kuki percentage of tribal seats in 1972?

IX. Claim: "Massive influx of illegal immigrants in 1962 & 1988."
Fact: The allegations of a massive influx of illegal immigrants, particularly in 1962 and 1988, are fabrications and lies. Those Kuki-Zo people driven out of Burma by the Dictator Ne Win during the “Khadawmi Operation, 1967” (in which around 2000 Indian citizens mostly belonging to Kuki-Zo ethnicity were expelled from Burma, while none of the Burmese Kuki-Zo people were expelled) were people who had earlier crossed over the border. Hence, they are home-comers who were received by the Government of India and settled amongst the existing Kuki-Zo villages of their choice, not in Reserved Forests or Protected Forest. The Chief Minister's attempt to label these Kuki-Zo Indians as refugees is misguided. If this logic were to be applied, it could also extend to all 300,000 Mainland Indians driven out of Burma, including the Tamils who were resettled in Moreh after being driven out of Burma. The Chief Minister's selective targeting of Kuki-Zo Indians is unjust, hypocritical, and cowardly.

X. Claim: "The Kuki-Zo community is involved in extensive poppy cultivation."
Fact: The Chief Minister also fails to mention the acres of poppy cultivation destroyed in areas dominated by other ethnicities while conveniently highlighting the figures for areas dominated by Kuki-Zo. Furthermore, let the Chief Minister explain to the public his connection to all the major druglords in the valley. While the poor Kuki-Zo farmers are fooled by Meitei Cartels to do the hard work of poppy cultivation, all of the major processing, supply, logistics, and the major chunk of profit are handled by Meitei cartels based out of Imphal. This selective targeting and criminalization of Kuki-Zo farmers while protecting Meitei druglords is another example of the Chief Minister's hypocrisy and corruption.

In short, the official release put all the blame for all the wrongs of the Meitei narcissist regime on the Kuki-Zo people. This was and is the strategy employed by the state government under the current regime from its inception: first; to justify its dehumanising and discriminatory policies and actions against the Kuki-Zo community; second, to bulldoze its share in the current ethnic conflict in the state, and third, to justify and bail out its “boys” from the heinous crimes against humanity, the ethnic cleansing pogrom against minority tribal community.

Furthermore, in a bid to curb violence in the strife-torn state, Biren Singh should desist from continuously spreading fake news, rumors, or misinformation regarding the prevailing situation in the state. CM’s deliberate attempt to stoke the violence with his anti-immigration metaphor that Manipur was literally ‘under siege’ is nothing but a justification for his state-sponsored genocide against the Kuki-Zo people. It is high time for the Government of India to take a stand and initiate action against such false assertions and dehumanizing propaganda. The Kuki-Zo people continue to face violence, displacement, and discrimination. Nevertheless, the Kuki-Zo people will fight relentlessly and fiercely against the targeted discrimination, oppression and persecution of our people as per the guaranteed constitutional rights and provisions. The Kuki Inpi will not rest until justice is served; the truth of the ongoing ethnic persecution against the Kuki-Zo people is acknowledged, and concrete actions are taken to ensure the safety and security of the Kuki-Zo people and their community’s existence as equal citizens of India is valued and preserved.

“The creation of a Union Territory with legislative powers alone can offer a permanent solution for the ongoing ethnic persecution against the Kuki-Zo people for lasting peace and stability in the region.”