Kuki-Zo organisations in Manipur have stepped up the ante against the deployment of central forces at Saibol and the use of “brutal” force against women protesting the deployment on Tuesday.

The swearing-in of new governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, former Union home secretary, will take place on Friday against this backdrop.

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a conglomerate of civil society organisations in Kuki-Zo majority Kangpokpi district, imposed a 12-hour total shutdown across Kangpokpi district from 2pm on Thursday in protest against the deployment of central forces, severely affecting normal life.

The shutdown follows the indefinite economic blockade of NH2 (Imphal-Dimapur route) imposed in the district on December 31 by the CoTU after its deadline for withdrawal of the forces ended at 4pm on that day.

Reports from Kangpokpi said the shutdown and the economic blockade are being strictly enforced by CoTU volunteers.

The simultaneous protests reflect the “resentment against the attacks on Kuki-Zo villages” in Saibol area by armed men from December 24 followed by the “occupation” of the bunkers of the Kuki-Zo village volunteers by central forces, triggering both resentment and fear within the community.

Women from Saibol had protested against the deployment of Central forces in Saibol area by clearing the bunkers of the Kuki-Zo volunteers, mostly armed men keeping a close eye on the peripheral areas to thwart any attack from the Meitei-majority Valley side.

There is a similar force of Meitei volunteers to check any attack from the hillside dominated by the Kuki-Zos.

Several women protestors were injured on December 31 during the protest due to the alleged use of tear gas by the security forces to disperse them, triggering condemnation and toughening the stand of the Kuki-Zo organisations against the deployment.

The Manipur Police posted on X, “On 31/12/2024 ,a large number of womenfolk attempted to disrupt the deployment of Army, BSF and CRPF at Uyokching, near Thamnapokpi. The joint security forces dispersed the crowd with minimum use of force and now the situation in peaceful and under control. The joint security forces are deployed at the hilltop to dominate the area and prevent any untoward incident in
the area.”

Kuki-Zo organisations and the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs have been opposed to the replacement of Assam Rifles personnel with CRPF personnel in the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi since reports of the replacement started appearing in the media in August.

Council blockade

Apart from the protests launched by the CoTU, the Kuki-Zo Council, the apex body of Kuki-Zo tribes, on Thursday threatened to impose an economic blockade in all Kuki-Zo inhabited districts of Manipur if the authorities do not address the “recent inhumane and brutal acts of Manipur state-supervised armed forces (excluding the Army)” against Kuki-Zo women in Saibol village.

The Kuki-Zo Council announced the economic blockade to express its displeasure over the “non-implementation of a verbal agreement” between Kuki-Zo CSOs and the central forces to calm the situation following the use of force against the women protestors, a council office-bearer said.

As part of the agreement, the central forces were to take care of the injured women and maintain the sanctity of the buffer zone, he said.

“The buffer zone is a neutral point; it is crucial that it needs to be strengthened (so) that neither the Kukki-Zo nor the Meiteis cross over and attack the other,” the Kuki-Zo council said. The buffer zone was created by the state and central authorities soon after the conflict between the two communities began on May 3, 2023.

The ongoing strife has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced over 60000 people.

On Wednesday, a protest was held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Wednesday against the action of security forces against Kuki-Zo women at Saibol and deployment of Central forces in the area.

The Kuki-Zo Women Forum and the Kuki Students’Organisation (KSO) of Delhi and NCR had submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister against the twin developments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited Manipur since the conflict began.