Kuki-Zo Council meets IB chief, seeks govt. action on blockade by Nagas

As Naga groups continue to block the supply of essentials to Kuki-Zo areas in Manipur’s Kangpokpi, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), an apex body of the tribes, met Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Mahesh Dixit and senior officials of the Union Home Ministry on Monday (July 13, 2026) seeking the Centre’s intervention to the crisis and expedition of political solution.

The KZC members said the restoration of the popular government in Manipur on February 4, a year after President’s Rule was imposed, has been of “no good” to them. They said at least 15 Kuki-Zo people were killed, and 14 villages of the community burnt down so far. Ginza Vualzong, KZC spokesperson, said Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh has “nothing much to do” with the Kuki-Zo people, who are now looking for a separate administration – a Union Territory with a legislature.

When asked about the role played during the ongoing crisis by Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, who belongs to the Kuki-Zo community, the spokesperson said, “The politics is such that she has not been able to do much and no official communication with KZC has taken place.”

The ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people, which started on May 3, 2023, has now expanded to tensions between Kuki and Naga people. Manipur is inhabited by three major groups — the Meitei, the tribal Naga, and the Kuki-Zo people.

The ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people, which started on May 3, 2023, has now expanded to tensions between Kuki and Naga people. File
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PTI

In a meeting with civil society members on Monday, Mr. Dixit sought the list of vulnerable Kuki-Zo villages that required urgent security, Henlianthang Thanglet, chairperson, KZC, said, adding that a memorandum has been submitted to Home Minister Amit Shah detailing their demands.

“In a meeting with Director, IB, we spoke about the atrocities and violence we are facing. How to solve the supply of food. He said he will look into it. We also spoke about the political settlement,” said Mr. Thanglet. He said Kuki-Zo people, particularly those residing in Kangpokpi, Ukhrul, Kamjong, and Noney districts were the worst affected.

The spokesperson said talks between the Ministry and Kuki-Zo insurgent groups in suspension of operations pact are going on every month to finalise a political settlement.

Since May 13, when three Thadou-Kuki pastors were killed in Kangpokpi, the Kuki-dominated district is witnessing one of the worst economic blockades in the past few years. The situation worsened after the mutilated bodies of six Naga men, who were missing since May 13, were recovered by police on June 10 in Kangpokpi. On July 10, a couple was arrested for the crime.

Due to its location — surrounded by the Naga-dominated Senapati district in the north and the Meitei-dominated valley districts in the south — preceded by a Naga settlement, the transportation of essential and daily-need items has been severely affected in the hill district, as Naga village volunteers have imposed a blockade on goods entering from outside the State.

“Half a bag of rice is selling for ₹3,500, a litre of petrol costs ₹250 and if one is lucky then a gas cylinder is available anywhere between ₹3,000-₹5,000. All blocked routes should be opened and the supply of food, medicines, fuel and other essential commodities should be ensured. Residents of two villages in Kamjong district – Chassad and Aishi, have been boycotted and even if they have money, they cannot buy anything from the nearby markets,” the spokesperson said.