Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:
A protester from the Kuki tribes was killed in clashes with the security forces in Manipur today as buses moved out of the state capital Imphal towards other districts, following the Centre’s order to ensure free movement across the state that is under the President’s rule.
The police in a statement said “armed miscreants from among the protesters” fired at them.
The buses with security escorts that went towards Kangpokpi, 45 km from Imphal, faced a blockade by women protesters. The security forces fired tear gas and lathi-charged them as the mob refused to let the vehicles pass, officials said.
Sixteen protesters were injured, the police said in a statement, adding the crowd grew in number and some started throwing stones at the buses and the escort vehicles.
The Kangpokpi protesters damaged some vehicles and set one on fire, officials said.
Twenty-seven security force personnel were injured, two critically, the police said in a statement.
“The security forces showed tremendous restraint while trying to control the unruly and violent mob and used minimum force to control and counter the anti-social elements, including the firing by armed miscreants from among the protesters,” the police said.
As per decision of the State Government dated 7th March, 2025 to arrange bus service by Manipur State Transport Buses under security escort to alleviate public inconveniences as an initiative towards bringing normalcy in the State from 8th March, 2025, Manipur State Transport Bus…
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) March 8, 2025
The police said allegations by the Kuki-Zo Council and the Kuki Students’ Organisation that security forces were escorting local protesters are “totally baseless and false”.
‘Indefinite Shutdown’
The Kuki-Zo Council (KAC), a newly formed group, in a statement called an indefinite shutdown in areas where the Kuki-Zo tribes are dominant.
“… the ‘free movement’ initiative of the government will be staunchly opposed until a political solution for the Kuki-Zo community is reached for lasting peace in the region. The KZC cannot guarantee free movement of Meiteis across buffer zones and cannot take responsibility for any untoward incidents,” KZC chairman Henlianthang Thanglet said in the statement.
Buses that went to Churachandpur, however, reached without any incident and faced no road blockade, officials said. The buses crossed the Meitei-dominant Bishnupur and reached Churachandpur’s Kangvai, some 55 km from Imphal.
Conflict For Nearly Two Years
The valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. Over 250 have died in the violence and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced.
Kuki leaders, nearly two dozen militant groups that have signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement, and their frontal civil organisations have demanded the Centre give them a separate administration before allowing communities to move freely across Manipur.
Meitei organisations have questioned why thousands of internally displaced people living in relief camps are threatened by the Kuki tribes from returning home to rebuild their lives, and why people cannot travel safely on national highways, when talks can go on simultaneously.
The Meitei Heritage Society in a statement said “the blockade of the National Highway in Kangpokpi by Chin Kuki protesters and their armed groups is a deeply disturbing and a deliberate act of defiance, which directly challenges the decision of the Union Home Ministry to reopen the highways, a step taken towards restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur.”
“India should not succumb to the handful of militants and groups propped up by them and demonstrate that those challenging the sovereignty of the Indian state and rule of law will face exemplary action,” the Meitei civil society organisation said.
While Kuki-Zo groups pointed at the ethnic clashes that began in May 2023 as the reason why they escalated their demand from an autonomous council to a separate administration, or a Union Territory with an assembly, Meitei leaders have pointed at decades-old evidence of Kuki groups working to form ‘Kukiland’ carved out of Manipur.
The World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) in a memorandum to Manipur’s new Governor on January 15 said the Kuki tribes have been demanding a state “since 1946-47.”
In the years before May 2023, Kuki protests, gatherings and academic discussions have mentioned the demand for a separate area carved out of Manipur.
