Manipur: Gloves Need To Come Off As Combating Kuki Narco-Terrorists Only Way To Save State From Tipping Over

The frightening outcome of indulging Kuki-Chin narco-terrorists and allowing them a free rein in the hill areas of Manipur over the past 20 months was there for all to see on Friday evening (3 January). 

Bands of these terrorists, dressed in military fatigues and armed with sophisticated weapons, marched down the streets of Kangpokpi, the eponymous headquarters of the Kuki-dominated district, in a brazen bid to attack and take over the main police station of the town (watch this, this, this, and this).

Cheered wildly by Kuki men and women shouting ‘Kukiland’, who lined the streets and marched along, the terrorists were not challenged by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) until they reached the police station. 

Kuki men hurled firebombs and brickbats at the police station, damaged vehicles parked there, and even tried to set the police station on fire.

Even the district police chief, Manoj Prabhakar, was injured in the mob attack. Visuals of the police officer bleeding profusely from his forehead have been in circulation on social media since Friday evening . 

It was only then that the CAPF personnel intervened and fired tear gas shells and blanks to push back the frenzied Kuki mobs.

The Kuki terrorists also fired from their weapons, but no reports of any bullet injuries have come from the district. 

Why Kukis Staged Protests in Kangpokpi

The ostensible reason for the showdown was the non-fulfillment of the Kukis’ demand to remove all central security forces and the state police from Uyokching, an area in the district bordering the Meitei-dominated Imphal West district.

Earlier this week, CAPF personnel destroyed bunkers constructed by the Kuki-Chin terrorists at Uyokching and its neighbouring Saibol village. The terrorists had been launching rockets and firing on Meitei villages from these bunkers. 

While the CAPF personnel were engaged in destroying the bunkers, a large number of Kuki women attempted to stop them. The CAPF personnel retaliated with a lathicharge, during which a few women reportedly sustained minor injuries. 

Over the past 20 months, since the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur in May 2023, Kukis have been treated with kid gloves by central security forces, who have withdrawn rather than confront Kuki mobs, including the terrorists. 

While central security forces have been under strict instructions to exercise utmost restraint and avoid confrontations with the Kukis in the hills, state police have largely been confined to their barracks in the Kuki-dominated areas of the hill districts of Manipur. 

The Union government has pursued this policy of handling Kukis with kid gloves in the misplaced belief that appeasing them would help calm the situation in the state. 

Kuki groups called for a 24-hour shutdown of the district, as well as an indefinite blockade of a stretch of the arterial Asian Highway 1, which passes through Kuki-dominated areas. 

The Meitei-dominated Imphal valley is critically dependent on this highway, which connects the state to Nagaland and Assam for all supplies. 

But Kukis were enraged over attempts to thwart their shutdown by CAPF personnel, who escorted trucks carrying supplies to Imphal, about 44 kilometres (km) south of Kangpokpi. 

Over the past two days, Kuki groups have confronted CAPF personnel in various parts of the district and even tried to storm camps of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Border Security Force (BSF).

Their intention has been to provoke the CAPF personnel to retaliate and escalate the retaliation into a fresh conflict while playing the victim card. 

Kuki men and women also got into public confrontations with CAPF officers over the last two days, asking them (the CAPF officers) to withdraw from ‘Kukiland’. 

A video of a group of Kuki men asking a mid-ranking BSF officer to leave ‘Kukiland’ and the officer angrily retaliating with “this is my country” went viral on social media two days ago (watch this video).

The failure of this ploy over the past two days triggered frustration among the Kuki groups wanting to escalate the conflict in the state. And that, senior Manipur police officers told Swarajya, led to the brazen attempt to storm the Kangpokpi police station Friday evening.

Time for the Gloves to Come Off

The shocking show of force by Kuki terrorists at Kangpokpi, their sense of impunity and disregard of the law, and their attempt to engage in a gunfight with security forces must not go unpunished. 

The reaction of ordinary Kuki men and women who cheered the terrorists and shouted ‘Kukiland’ slogans shows the extent to which the Kukis have been emboldened to think they are above the law of the land. 

Friday’s act needs to be met with a strong reprisal. The terrorists' perfidious challenge to the Indian state should not go unpunished. 

A stern lesson should be taught that unlawful acts will invite strong retribution. Failure to act now will only embolden the Kuki-Chin terrorists who are trying to seize control over large parts of Manipur’s hill districts. 

The Union government’s policy of restraint towards the Kukis has not only not served any purpose, but it has also boomeranged on them. 

The policy has only emboldened the Kuki-Chin narco-terrorists to gain a sense of immunity and act in the brazen and illegal manner that they did Friday evening. 

Any such challenge to the Indian state has to be met firmly and in an exemplary manner to prevent its recurrence. 

The attempt to storm the Kangpokpi police station needs to be met with severe punishment. Also, the outrageous demand of Kukis to withdraw all security forces from parts of the district, as well as a halt to the ongoing operations to dismantle bunkers used to launch attacks on Meiteis, needs to be rebuffed strongly. 

It is time for a complete overhaul of the strategy to deal with Kukis and Kuki-Chin narco-terrorists. Any delay in enforcing the rule of the law in Manipur’s hills will surely tip Manipur over the edge.