Leading organisations from both sides of Manipur’s ethnic divide on Friday marked the anniversary of the continuing unrest by mourning their dead and calling for early restoration of peace.

But the divisions were reflected in reiterated appeals for, on the one hand, a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo and, on the other, a crackdown on Kuki insurgent groups.

Some of the events were poignant, such as a cycle rally for peace and unity by seven women with shaven heads.

The apex body of the state’s Kukis, the Kuki Inpi Manipur, sent a four-point memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to ensure the long-term security and well-being of the Kuki-Zo people and a lasting peace.

Modi is yet to visit Manipur since the conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo, which has killed at least 227 people and displaced over 67,000, began on May 3 last year.

A leading Imphal-based conglomerate of Meitei organisations, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), adopted three “people’s resolutions” after a commemorative event titled “365 days of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist aggression in Manipur”.

The resolutions included a demand for implementing the National Register for Citizens to check what the COCOMI said was widespread infiltration and for the Centre to acknowledge the issue of narco-terrorism and its ramifications for the indigenous people of Manipur; for abrogation of the suspension-of-operations agreement with Kuki rebel outfits; and for an end to “picking and choosing terrorist groups... merely to serve vested geopolitical and internal security interests by victimising the indigenous civilian population”.

Seven women from Imphal drew wide attention by getting their heads shaved in protest against the conflict, offering prayers for an end to the strife, and holding a 20km cycle rally from Sekmai to Kangla in Imphal district dressed in black, symbolising mourning.

They carried placards that said “We want peace”, “Protect indigenous people of Manipur” and “Protect territorial integrity of Manipur”.

A solidarity event — “Manipur in mourning: Call for justice” — was organised at Jantar Mantar in Delhi by 12 civil society organisations representing the Meitei community.

“We, Meeteis, are the real victims of cross-border terrorism that is a threat to India’s national security. We have been misrepresented, humiliated, targeted, unprotected, and denied timely justice,” a statement from the organisers said.

In the two-page memorandum to Modi, the Kuki Inpi Manipur sought stringent measures to protect the Kuki-Zo people from valley-based insurgent groups, and a handover of the bodies of the conflict’s victims to their families. It asked the government to address the “systemic oppression” of the Kuki-Zo by “the state government” and work for a “permanent” political solution.

The memorandum said the only viable measure for lasting peace and security for the Kuki-Zo was to speed up political talks with the Kuki insurgent groups that are part of the suspension-of-operations agreement.