Kuki Students’ Organisation Highlights Ethnic Injustice in Manipur at Delhi Press Conference, Urges Status Quo on Buffer Zones

A press conference was convened at the Constitutional Club of India, New Delhi, under the theme “Discriminatory and Biased Justice System Against the Kuki-Zo and the Need to Maintain Status Quo on Buffer Zones for Safety and Security.” Organised by the Kuki Students’ Organisation, Delhi & NCR, the event shed light on the deepening ethnic conflict in Manipur and the escalating marginalisation of the Kuki-Zo community.

The conference opened with introductory remarks by the host, Boithem. A traditional gesture of honour was extended by Juliana Doungel, advisor to the Kuki-Zo Women Forum Delhi, who presented ceremonial mufflers to the panelists. The President of Kuki Inpi Delhi acknowledged the symbolic significance of the act and expressed gratitude for the solidarity shown.

Supreme Court advocate Vishwajit Singh addressed the legal dimensions of the crisis, arguing that the Manipur government has not only failed in its constitutional duties but has acted as a partisan entity in the violence. He criticised the misuse of the constitutional right to free movement by the dominant Meitei community, calling it a deliberate distortion. He emphasised that the right to life supersedes all other rights, and the establishment of buffer zones by the central government was a necessary intervention in a volatile, life-threatening situation. Singh condemned the failure to hold violent Meitei groups like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun accountable, while members of the Kuki community, including civil society actors, have faced arbitrary arrests and legal harassment under the guise of maintaining order.

Chochong, Co-Convenor of the Kuki-Zo Women Forum, asserted that a political solution in the form of Union Territory status is not merely a political demand, but a survival imperative. She pointed out that despite decades of advocacy, the Kuki-Zo community has lacked the political capital to push their demands onto the national stage. Recalling the violent expulsion of culturally integrated Kukis from Imphal, she argued that Manipur is now irreversibly divided—both demographically and geographically. In her view, coexistence under the current arrangement is untenable, and only a structured political settlement can pave the way for lasting peace.

Thangminlal Doungel, interim President of the Kuki Students’ Organisation Delhi & NCR and a research scholar, highlighted the essential role of buffer zones in protecting the Kuki population and facilitating future political negotiations. He described the ethnic violence as systemic, brutal, and genocidal in character—citing mass killings, displacement, and atrocities against women as evidence. Doungel noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs itself recognised the breakdown of state neutrality, leading to the deployment of central forces and the designation of buffer zones. He referred to a September 2024 statement by Security Advisor Kuldeep Singh, which confirmed the recovery of over 1,200 looted firearms—underscoring the ongoing threat to minority communities. According to Doungel, only a fundamental administrative restructuring offers a viable and lasting solution. Anything less, he warned, would merely postpone the inevitable.

In her closing remarks, the host noted with concern the ongoing legal crackdown on the Kuki-Zo community. At least seven individuals have been arrested by the NIA, and over thirteen named in non-bailable warrants. The CBI is also reportedly targeting more. These arrests, often based on questionable confessions, stand in sharp contrast to the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators from the Meitei side. The speakers denounced this selective application of justice and called out the central government’s silence or inaction as tacit complicity.