In the memorandum, submitted via Home Secretary Govind Mohan, KOHUR referenced news reports regarding a leaked audio allegedly involving the chief minister and urged for appropriate action.
![[Manipur Violence] Kuki Organization Writes a Letter to SC-appointed Official, Seeking Probe into Manipur CM Involved in 'Large-Scale Ethnic Violence'](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-2024-09-07T091612.336.png?resize=820%2C461&ssl=1)
A Kuki organization has called for the registration of an FIR and an investigation into Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, accusing him of conspiring to incite “large-scale ethnic violence” against the Kuki community in the state.
The Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) addressed a memorandum to Dattatray Padsalgikar, the Supreme Court-appointed officer overseeing the investigation into ethnic violence cases in Manipur.
In the memorandum, submitted via Home Secretary Govind Mohan, KOHUR referenced news reports regarding a leaked audio allegedly involving the chief minister and urged for appropriate action.
The Manipur government has rejected the recording as fabricated. Meanwhile, the Kuki organization has also requested the registration of an FIR and an investigation into unidentified individuals for allegedly conspiring to incite large-scale ethnic violence, including mass murder and sexual crimes against the Kuki ethnic minority in Manipur.
They accused these individuals of carrying out both overt and covert illegal activities as part of this criminal conspiracy. Additionally, KOHUR submitted an approximately 48-minute audio recording, purportedly featuring the Manipur Chief Minister.
“In a highly charged ethnic environment, seeking an investigation from the regular police in Manipur, especially against the sitting Chief Minister, is a completely futile effort. It is important to note that your esteemed office was established by the Hon’ble Supreme Court precisely to address such situations,”
stated the Kuki organization.
KOHUR further mentioned that if the submitted audio recording is proven to be false, doctored, or manipulated during the investigation, those responsible for creating and spreading the media should be prosecuted according to the law.
Kuki groups have claimed the audio clip is evidence of the Manipur Chief Minister’s involvement in the ethnic violence.
However, Chief Minister N Biren Singh dismissed the clip as part of a “conspiracy.”
In a recent interview with media he said, “Some people are after me… there is a conspiracy. The matter is sub judice. I won’t say much. An FIR has been filed.” Since May last year, over 200 people have died and thousands have been displaced due to clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities.
Subsequenty, a suspected militant rocket attack on the residence of former Chief Minister, the late Mairembam Koireng Singh, in Moirang on Friday(6th Sept) resulted in one death and five injuries. The victim has been identified as 70-year-old RK Rabei, a resident of Pheewangbam Leikei. According to police, the injured were transported to a hospital for treatment.
Conflict Between Kuki and Meitei Communities
India’s northeastern states have a long history of ethnic rivalries, predating the country’s independence in 1947. In Manipur, clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities have erupted several times before. Recently, tensions escalated, partly due to accusations that the Meitei-led state government was pursuing discriminatory policies against the Kukis, such as forced evictions threatening their land security and attempts to label them as illegal immigrants.
The violence was triggered by a court ruling in March, which granted the majority Meitei community “scheduled tribal status.” This entitled them to economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education, previously reserved for minority groups like the Kukis. It also allowed the Meiteis to purchase land in the hilly regions predominantly inhabited by the Kukis, heightening fears that the Kukis would lose their land, jobs, and opportunities.
Protests, mainly led by Kuki student groups, erupted in response and were met with violence, which escalated into full-scale conflict by early May. In Imphal, Meitei mobs targeted Kuki homes and attacked Kukis fleeing to the hills. Meitei militias, sometimes numbering in the hundreds or thousands, also burned Kuki villages to the ground.
Although the Supreme Court later stayed the ruling, calling it “factually wrong,” the violence had already spread across the region.
How has the violence unfolded?
The violence initially saw Meitei groups targeting Kuki villages and communities. As the clashes intensified, entire villages were set on fire, and over 250 Kuki churches, belonging to the Christian Kuki community, were destroyed.
The situation worsened as fake news and misinformation spread, falsely claiming that Kuki groups had raped and killed Meitei women. In retaliation, Kuki women became targets of systematic violence, including rape, torture, and assault, with several reports of beheadings emerging.
The state quickly became divided along ethnic lines, with the Meiteis occupying the valley and the Kukis retreating to the hills. Both sides defended their territories against violent mobs, and a buffer zone emerged between the two regions. Entering the opposing community’s territory was soon considered deadly. Much of the violence involved thousands of weapons looted from police and army barracks.
To date, over 140 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced. The internet remains shut down in large parts of the state. Despite claims by the state and central governments, both led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that the situation has stabilized, sporadic clashes continue. Both sides have warned that Manipur is teetering on the edge of civil war.
The violence has reignited the Kukis’ longstanding demand for a separate state. Kuki groups argue that the violence has proven they can no longer live safely under a Meitei-dominated state, and they vow to continue their fight until their own state is established. Meanwhile, the Meitei community and the state government strongly oppose the creation of a separate Kuki state.
