Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Condemns Valley-Based CSOs' Opposition to Alternative Route Projects

The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) has condemned the opposition raised by Meitei civil society organisations (CSOs) to the construction of alternative highway routes — Lamka (Churachandpur)–Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal–Chandel–Lamka (Churachandpur) — during their recent meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

KOHUR has demanded the immediate completion of the Lamka–Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal–Chandel–Lamka highways and called upon the Meitei civil societies to abandon their "obstructionist and hypocritical" stance.

In a press release issued on Thursday, KOHUR stated that such opposition, rooted in deep-seated prejudice and double standards, represents a blatant disregard for the survival and fundamental rights of the Kuki tribal communities of Manipur.

KOHUR pointed out that since May 3, 2023, the state of Manipur has witnessed one of the most brutal episodes of ethnic violence in India’s recent history — “a state-enabled campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting the tribal Kuki population.”

In the aftermath, the Kuki community has been physically, socially, and economically cut off from the rest of the state, as the existing national highways, controlled by Meitei-dominated areas, have become inaccessible and unsafe.

The organisation stated that numerous vehicles carrying goods, including essential supplies and life-saving medicines, have been burnt and looted on these routes. Tragically, both state and central authorities have failed to ensure safe passage or intervene effectively.

Despite this, the Kuki community has not retaliated by blocking or destroying highways passing through tribal areas, thereby upholding a standard of restraint and humanitarian concern even in the face of grave provocation, the release said. Yet, the Kukis have been left with no option but to develop alternative routes to ensure daily survival — including access to food, fuel, medicine, and communication, it added.

KOHUR stated that the Government of India is fully aware of the blockade of basic rights and the breach of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution — the Right to Life — which the Kuki people endure every day.

The opposition to these alternative routes, even as they are being developed through public contributions and local volunteer efforts without financial or logistical support from the government, reveals a deeply discriminatory and apathetic approach toward minority tribes in the state, the release further added.

“It is unacceptable that those who destroyed the Kukis’ access to existing roads now oppose even the Kukis’ self-created solutions. This reflects not only Meitei civil society's double standards but also the systemic discrimination and negligence that tribal minorities have been subjected to,” KOHR said.

The organisation further stated that no negotiation or political dialogue claiming to seek peace or normalcy can be considered genuine unless and until the Lamka–Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal–Chandel–Lamka alternative highways are fully constructed and operationalised as all-weather, double-lane routes.

KOHUR also called upon the Central Government to immediately cease appeasement of majoritarian pressures and to uphold its constitutional duty to protect the rights of all citizens — particularly vulnerable minorities.

The media and civil society in India are also urged to speak out against the discriminatory treatment being inflicted on the Kuki tribal people.

KOHUR concluded by stating that the Kuki people will not remain silent or gullible in the face of such blatant injustice. “We will resist tooth and nail any peace or political arrangement that ignores the basic necessity of our survival,” it said.