How Pakistan-Based X Users Amplify Anti-Meitei Narratives in Opposition to BJP

Since 2023, a coordinated network of inauthentic X accounts and Facebook profiles has fueled a disinformation campaign, with Pakistan-based handles such as Tactical Tribune, Sadia Khalid, and other fake profiles targeting the Meitei community. Although these accounts are blocked in India, their propaganda resonates globally, amplifying divisive narratives. 

These posts often incite local groups like ITLF, CoTU, and the Kuki-Zo Council to undermine the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by spreading narratives that vilify Meiteis. Few anti-BJP national media reporters too echoed these claims, flouting protocols requiring defense or police verification. 

Seizing the opportunity on Nambol ambush to target Meiteis and the BJP, these Pakistan-based accounts have disseminated fabricated claims, such as alleging that 10 Assam Rifles personnel were killed in a recent Manipur attack and that Arambai Tenggol threatened further strikes. These assertions are baseless. The posts include an image of Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, falsely linked to Arambai Tenggol, despite him making no such statements. These propaganda accounts spread invented claims about terrorist attacks on security personnel in Manipur to advance an anti-India narrative.

When international human rights organizations, churches, the Editors Guild of India (EGI), and the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) failed to uphold impartiality, the Nambol ambush became the latest flashpoint in Kuki propaganda efforts to demean the Meitei community. This orchestrated rush to blame reveals a hybrid warfare strategy, blending local grievances with foreign interference. In India, these X users linked to Congress and Kuki lobbies amplified these claims, connecting the ambush to Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Leishemba Sanajaoba via the withheld Pakistan-origin handle Tactical Tribune.

Also Read: Merger with India—A Tale of Promises Betrayed and Unyielding Spirit of Manipur

On September 19, 2025, gunfire shattered the quiet dusk in Bishnupur district, Manipur. An Assam Rifles convoy traveling from Patsoi to Nambol base was ambushed near Nambol Sabal Leikai. Two jawans—Nb Sub Shyam Gurung and Rfn Ranjit Singh Kashyap—lost their lives, while five others sustained grievous injuries. Within an hour of the 5:40 PM attack, the newly formed Kuki militant group Kuki Liberation Army-Letkhokun (KLA-L) issued a press release, not condemning the violence but demanding the imposition of AFSPA in Meitei areas. The hastily prepared statement, which incorrectly reported the number of casualties, clearly aimed to enforce AFSPA in the valley.

Amid the chaos, a rare act of humanity emerged: Meitei villagers risked their lives to aid the wounded soldiers, rushing them to hospitals. By dawn, Meira Paibi members joined thousands in protests condemning the attack on the 33rd Assam Rifles. For the first time in Manipur’s conflict-ridden history, a unified cry arose against a violence that has claimed over 300 lives and displaced tens of thousands.

This fleeting solidarity was quickly overshadowed by a digital firestorm on X, Manipur’s virtual battleground. Foreign users and their local proxies unleashed propaganda, portraying Meitei as bloodthirsty terrorists. Accounts like Tactical Tribune (@TacticalTribun) and Julia Kendrick (@JuKrick_) weaponized social media to amplify anti-Meitei narratives, intertwining ethnic vilification with opposition to the BJP, which governs both Manipur and India. 

Tactical Tribune cloaks its agenda in military jargon while attacking Meiteis and the BJP. Their fake tweets, " Indian  Militant Leader warns of more deadly attacks on Indian Army..." This baseless smear, lacking specifics, fuels anti-Meitei tropes and accuses the BJP-led state apparatus of shielding aggressors. The account’s anonymity, blending martial rhetoric with ethnic barbs, suggests foreign interference—potentially Pakistani proxies, given withheld accounts’ rumored ISI links. Its posts align with a broader anti-BJP narrative, accusing the party of mismanaging Manipur’s crisis and amplifying division under X’s lax moderation, where outrage often overshadows facts.

Julia Kendrick, another self-proclaimed UK-based documenter of "Christian persecutions in South Asia," has built a platform of anti-Meitei vitriol. Her timeline promotes Kuki-Zo separatism, framing every Meitei action as genocidal. On the day of the Nambol ambush, as locals tended to the wounded and mourned the dead, Kendrick posted: “At ~5:50 pm today, suspected Arambai Tenggol cadres, proxies of Valley-Based Insurgent Groups, ambushed an Assam Rifles convoy near Nambol Sabal Leikai. A Tata 407 ferrying AR troops came under fire—5 killed, several injured. Ties with VBIGs exposed again.” This inflated casualty count (official reports confirm two dead, five injured) and unsubstantiated claim against Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei volunteer group often maligned as militants, lacked evidence—relying solely on a video clip and a preconceived narrative. This is not journalism; it is a premeditated smear.

Julia Kendrick’s strategy is predictable: cherry-pick incidents, invert victimhood, and invoke religious persecution to globalize local grievances. Weeks earlier, she dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Churachandpur as a farce, ignoring the 10 Kuki MLAs’ memorandum for a separate Union Territory while amplifying “Narendra Modi Go Back” chants at Manipur University. Her posts routinely label Meiteis as “secessionist rapist terrorists,” echoing Kuki narratives while erasing Meitei suffering. With 344 followers, her reach is amplified by algorithms and retweets from the Kuki diaspora, turning X into an echo chamber of hate.

Kuki and pro-Congress X handles leverage these foreign accounts to fuel their local social media war, aiming to portray Meiteis as terrorists and demand a separate administration. This propaganda exposes a deep state actively working to destabilize India. Hours after the Nambol ambush, Kuki X users amplified Pakistani-origin tweets blaming “Meitei separatist terrorists,” demanding AFSPA’s extension to the valley and a Union Territory. Four days later, no group had claimed responsibility for the ambush—a hallmark of genuine insurgent operations—yet accusations targeted Meitei-linked groups like PLA, UNLF, and Arambai Tenggol, citing unverified “reliable sources.”

Arambai Tenggol, often scapegoated, issued a rare statement condemning the ambush: “We express our deepest grief and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the brave soldiers of the 33 Assam Rifles who made the supreme sacrifice. The soldiers attained martyrdom during an ambush at Nambol in Bishnupur District, Manipur.” This unequivocal denouncement, rooted in solidarity with the fallen, was drowned out by a smear campaign amplified by X handles aligned with the Indian National Congress. These voices, fiercely anti-BJP, target Meiteis as proxies for their opposition to the ruling party, conflating ethnic grievances with political vendettas to destabilize the region. Their timelines brim with anti-BJP rhetoric, mocking Modi’s policies and amplifying protests against Assam’s BJP Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, framing Meiteis as complicit in BJP-orchestrated oppression.

Among the Indian origin X handle, one Shalini Shukla (@Shalini_sh1) accused “Meitei". Her post, aligned with foreign X handles, gained traction among Congress sympathizers pushing anti-BJP narratives. Suspected to be a troll, Shukla’s account has a history of anti-Meitei rhetoric, but this crossed into defamation by implicating Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Leishemba Sanajaoba. BJP MP has also filed an FIR, exposing her role in a coordinated smear. Shalini Shukla’s timeline reveals her as a cog in an anti-BJP machine, amplifying Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, decrying “Modi’s failures” in foreign policy and election integrity, and portraying BJP governance as divisive—a pattern aligning ethnic smears with opposition politics to erode the party’s Northeast hold.

Engaging the trend is Kuki legislator Paolienlal Haokip, styling himself a “people’s representative,” has fueled separatism since May 2023, aligning anti-Meitei rhetoric with criticism of the BJP’s state leadership. Among 10 Kuki MLAs demanding a “separate administration” post-violence, Haokip’s rhetoric has escalated from administrative autonomy to carving Manipur into three Union Territories for Meiteis, Nagas, and Kuki-Zos. By July 2023, he accused Meiteis of “ethnic cleansing” abetted by “communalized state forces,” urging Modi for reorganization while criticizing BJP inaction. 

He often called for “separate administration by force” and challenged Amit Shah. By August, he declared no resolution without Union Territories, tying it to resource equity. His September 2025 demand for a Kuki Union Territory post-Nambol ambush betrays desperation amid President’s Rule rumors, revealing a separatist agenda amplified by groups like Kuki Inpi Manipur, which echoed Separate Administration or Union Territory calls.

And following  Paolienlal Haokip, Benjamin Mate, former leader of the Kuki State Demand Committee, defended Shalini Shukla’s defamatory tweet, stating, “We are with you.” The question remains: who is this “we”? Pakistani agents like Tactical Tribune or Julia Kendrick? Mate’s support aligns with Kuki leaders’ pattern of portraying Meiteis as aggressors, diverting focus from the ambush’s unclaimed responsibility to alleged valley oppression. His rhetoric, alongside figures like Shalini Shukla or Rasush Ankita, serves as a proxy to internationalize the conflict and embarrass the ruling party.

The hypocrisy is stark in mourning. Imphal and Churachandpur saw thousands honour the fallen jawans, a rare unity. Valley protests condemned the attack outright; hill marches targeted “Meitei secessionists.” Where is the outrage for the 12 security personnel killed by Kuki militants within 14 months of the Manipur violence starting on May 3, 2023? This selective grief, exploited by propagandists like Tactical Tribune, Sadia Khalid or Julia Kendrick, undermines both Meiteis and the BJP.

Adding to this, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a prominent Kuki body, withdrew its proposed 72-hour economic blockade on AH1/NH-2 days after announcing it, following backlash from their own community and widespread mockery for hypocritically condemning the two jawans martyred in Nambol Sabal Leikai while ignoring the 12 security personnel killed by Kuki militants. To mask their humiliation, CoTU issued a press release attributing the decision to “assurances from authorities and appeals from civil bodies amid ongoing natural calamities.” Yet, even in retreat, they urged accountability and prevention—a thinly veiled jab at valley forces, highlighting the one-sided narrative peddled by hill organizations.

Amid this, Manipur united to condemn the ambush. From Imphal to Churachandpur, thousands paid tribute to the fallen jawans. In the valley, protests decried the attack; in Churachandpur, the Kuki community held a silent march against “Meitei secessionist narco-terrorists.” in the valley, the voices that once shouted “Go Back Assam Rifles,” accusing them of favoring Kuki militants, now condemn attacks on them, reflecting a weary state craving peace. Yet, local organizations like ITLF, CoTU, and Kuki-Zo councils, oppose this peace, aiming to destabilize the region.

The government must act decisively: scrutinize foreign-linked X handles, from  Tactical Tribune’s shadowy origins to Julia Kendrick’s UK base, from Shalini Shukla to Rasush Ankita and their affiliated organizations. The IT Act offers tools to curb cross-border psyops, while platforms must enforce transparency, geo-tagging IPs to expose agitators. Manipur’s salvation lies in its people—jawans who sacrifice, women who march, villagers who heal—not in the hashtags of propagandists.