Representational image of a buffer zone in Manipur
| Photo Credit: Vijaita Singh
A Manipur group has suspended its ban on the movement of the Kuki people within the territories of four Naga communities.
The Committee on Protection of Indigenous People’s Ancestral Land (COPIPAL) said that the ban, which was to have taken effect on June 2, was withdrawn “for some time” in the “interest of maintaining peace” in the State.
The COPIPAL, formed during a people’s consultative meeting convened by the Joint Tribes Council on April 14 in the Kangpokpi district’s Konsaram village, had announced a “complete restriction on the movement of Kukis” within the territories of the Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei, and Zeme Naga communities.
Konsaram is one of the oldest Naga villages in Manipur. According to the committee, the Kukis attacked the Liangmai Naga inhabitants of the village in an “unprovoked and orchestrated act of aggression” on April 5, severely “undermining the peace and dignity” of the indigenous Naga people.
The COPIPAL described the attack as a threat to the safety, rights, and cultural identity of the Naga communities.
Reacting to the COPIPAL decision on May 28, the Regional Naga Council of Manipur directed the Naga leaders and frontal organisations concerned to uphold the declaration of ban within their respective jurisdictions.
However, the apex United Naga Council and the Joint Tribes Council later sought relaxation of the ban to facilitate people in the conflict-scarred State.
The Nagas have been largely neutral in the conflict between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the non-tribal Meitei communities that broke out on May 3, 2025, claiming more than 250 human lives and displacing some 60,000 others.
Manipur has been under the President’s Rule since February 13, days after N. Biren Singh resigned as the Chief Minister.
Published – June 03, 2025 03:07 pm IST
