Old videos resurface amid tensions after Kuki groups’ peace talks stall

In the wake of the November 7, 2025, high-stakes dialogue between leaders of the Kuki Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)—where it was unequivocally affirmed that no separate administration, Union Territory, or any analogous political concession would ever be extended to the Kuki community—non-SoO Kuki militant factions unleashed a meticulously orchestrated, multi-phased psychological operations (psyops) campaign. 

This onslaught involved the systematic release of repurposed, outdated videos designed to instill terror, sow discord, and undermine the precarious stability in Manipur.The campaign ignited on November 8 with a clip falsely portraying armed militants prowling through areas close to Meitei villages. 

This further intensified by November 12 with footage of heavily armed cadres stationed in Myanmar brazenly issuing invasion threats against Manipur. These rogue elements, operating outside the SoO framework and thus unbound by any ceasefire obligations, strategically deployed recycled misinformation from as far back as 2024 to provoke widespread panic among the Meitei populace, incite retaliatory backlash, and deliberately derail the nascent peace initiatives. 

Their actions lay bare a profound desperation, as their longstanding political aspirations—now irrevocably shattered—leave them grasping at digital shadows to regain leverage.The synchronization of these releases with the MHA's rejection is anything but accidental. Far from capturing contemporaneous events, these are archival recordings exhumed and rebranded to exploit vulnerabilities in the road to peace in Manipur. 

This exemplifies textbook psyops: a sophisticated blend of intimidation, manipulation, and perceptual engineering that Kuki militants have honed to perfection whenever diplomatic avenues collapse, aiming to coerce concessions through engineered chaos rather than direct engagement.

At the epicenter of this psyops machinery stands the United Tribal Volunteers (UTV), a proscribed Kuki insurgent organization established in late 2023 under the leadership of German Hemlal, who serves as President of the Kuki National Front (Military Council) or KNF (MC). The UTV has funneled an estimated 500–800 recruits—many of them impressionable juveniles hailing from Churachandpur and Kangpokpi district—across the notoriously permeable India-Myanmar border into the Sagaing Division and Tamu regions. 

There, they integrate into anti-junta resistance operations against Myanmar's military regime, which has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since the 2021 coup.The UTV forges robust operational alliances with the Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B), a Myanmar-based offshoot that collaborates on coordinated assaults against junta positions in tandem with local People's Defence Forces (PDF). 

Complementing this is the Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers (KVV), which furnishes critical logistical backbone, including supply chains, village-level mobilization, and facilitation of cross-border transit within Manipur's hill districts. These interconnections transform the border into a conduit for arms, personnel, and ideology, perpetuating a cycle of violence that spills over into Manipur's ethnic tensions.

To bolster recruitment drives and exacerbate communal fissures, UTV-affiliated propagandists inaugurated a Facebook profile under the pseudonym "Kērry Thūrr Hk" (alternatively stylized as Kerry Hurr HK) on 17 October 2024. This digital outpost disseminates a steady stream of inflammatory content—videos glorifying armed exploits and rallying cries for Kuki-Zo unity against alleged Meitei—serving as a virtual recruiting sergeant and incendiary device.

The human toll of these Myanmar entanglements is staggering and exposes the UTV's frontline commitment. In January 2025, 21-year-old recruit Seikhotinsat Khongsai perished in a fierce clash at Min Thar. The following month, over 20 UTV/KNA-B combatants were killed in devastating Myanmar airstrikes near Border Pillar 81 in the Tamu area, with their remains repatriated for poignant funerals in Manipur that doubled as propaganda spectacles. 

Heightened security vigilance has yielded tangible intercepts, such as the October 18, 2025, apprehension of two juvenile UTV cadres near Sajik Tampak in Chandel district as they attempted to slip from Churachandpur into Tamu for advanced training. These incidents highlight persistent attempts to smuggle weaponry and fighters back into Manipur, fueling the state's enduring ethnic violence.

The propaganda barrage crested on November 12, 2025, with uploads by the militant handle Kerry Thurr Hk. The videos feature Kuki Army contingents—explicitly tied to the Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers and United Tribal Volunteers—flaunting an arsenal of assault rifles and other sophisticated ordnance. They purport to document skirmishes against Myanmar's junta, a plausible narrative amid the neighboring country's turmoil.

Yet, the pivotal deception lies in their irrelevance to Manipur's internal dynamics. Repackaging these clips with menacing invasion words such as "we are coming to Manipur" constitutes a blatant act of psychological warfare, calibrated to unnerve residents in the Imphal Valley, erode faith in state security apparatus, and challenge the writ of law enforcement.

This is no impulsive outburst but a strategic riposte to political rebuff. For years, Kuki factions have agitated for administrative separation or Union Territory status—demands categorically dismissed by the MHA on November 7. Thwarted and marginalized, non-SoO militants like UTV and UKNA have pivoted to informational combat, leveraging social media to foment fear, spur Meitei counter-mobilization, and torpedo reconciliation efforts. 

Their psyops blueprint exposes a calculated vulnerability: unable to prevail in open confrontation against the formidable Indian Army and Manipur Police, they opt for low-risk disruption to undermine morale and extract indirect gains through orchestrated turmoil.The architect behind these uploads, Kerry Thurr Hk, operates with shrewd anonymity yet employs transparent ploys: overlaying reels with popular Hindi tracks to feign Indian origins, capturing motorcycle rides on vehicles with Manipur license plates to forge local authenticity. 

Once disseminated, algorithmic amplification propels the content into polarized echo chambers, where Meitei audiences react with outrage and calls for vigilance, while Kuki viewers interpret it as justification for heightened defenses—perpetuating a self-reinforcing spiral of suspicion that implores rational scrutiny before viral impulses translate into violence.

To escalate the psychological intimidation against the Meitei community, Kuki Army operatives have circulated additional provocative clips featuring their personnel directly mocking Meitei viewers with the taunt: "Hello Meitei, you can hire Michael Lamjathang to translate what the Kuki Army is saying." This barbed reference targets Michael Lamjathang, a bold and fearless Thadou leader who has emerged as a fierce critic of Kuki propaganda and their separatist political agenda, which he argues comes at the expense of other tribal groups. 

They are executing a ruthless psychological warfare campaign that’s already targeting Thadou leaders living in Imphal, brazenly labeling them as “Kuki spies” to ignite suspicion and fracture Meitei unity this very moment. This is no idle rumor—it’s a live, escalating threat designed to paralyze communities with fear and betrayal.

In a parallel move, a year-old video of KNO President PS Haokip calling for all Kuki militants to unite and strengthen their ranks has been deliberately resurfaced and falsely presented as a fresh directive, deliberately clouding the information landscape with deception. These calculated psyops maneuvers deepen the chasm of mistrust, inflicting severe damage on ongoing peace dialogues and fragile prospects for détente between the communities.

The Kuki psyops machine never sleeps. Earlier in 2024, it ran hotter than ever, pumping out fake threats, recycled footage, and laughable bluffs, all crafted to keep Meiteis flinching at shadows while the real danger crept closer in the dark. One viral lie at a time, they tried to snap our nerve. It started in February 2024, cold and quiet, when a grainy video detonated across every feed. Hard-faced militants, rifles raised, swore on camera: “Two months. We take Kangla.” Then the mask cracked. Those weren’t Kuki fighters. They were Karenni rebels, miles away in Myanmar, battling the junta. The footage? The voice? Cheap AI, stitched in after the fact. Kuki handlers didn’t care about truth—they just needed panic. And they got it.

By December, the game got desperate. And pathetic. Shaky new clips flooded X and WhatsApp: KNA-B “reinforcements” trudging toward Khamenlok, fumbling maps, jabbing fingers at Meitei villages like tourists lost on a hike. Captions screamed: “Any moment now. Evacuate or die.”Then came the kill shot—a bunker video they never should’ve posted. Their “elite strike force” confesses: just seven men. Two scouting. Two sniping. Three… napping. Rifles leaning like forgotten umbrellas. 

But we see it now. Clear as daylight. So fact-check like your life depends on it—because it does. Expose every fake. Report the accounts. Demand sealed borders. One more unchecked video, and the psyop turns real. 

The cycle of mistrust deepens, and peace talks suffer. This is psyops at its finest: low-cost, high-impact, and deniable. No shots fired, but the psychological damage is immense.Critics might argue these videos are harmless boasts from across the border. But timing tells the truth. Why now, when Manipur is inching toward stability? 

The President's Rule, imposed in February 2025, is set to lift soon. Kuki legislators and CSOs, who initially demanded its extension, now anticipate a new popular government by February 2026. SoO groups hope a BJP-led or coalition administration will be more amenable to their grievances. A stable transition could marginalize non-SoO militants, cutting off their funding and influence. Destabilizing the state now—through panic-inducing videos—serves to discredit the peace roadmap and position these radicals as protectors of Kuki interests.

The roadmap itself is straightforward and promising. It involves tripartite talks between the Centre, state government, and Kuki representatives; disarmament of SoO cadres; rehabilitation packages; and confidence-building measures like joint patrols. Security forces have already notched successes: dominating fringe areas, securing highways, and preventing large-scale infiltrations. 

Yet, non-SoO Kuki groups want none of it. They thrive on anarchy. By challenging security forces with threats of crossing into Manipur, they test the borders' integrity and provoke overreactions that could escalate tensions.Fortunately, the state apparatus is alert—and leading the charge against this Kuki Army psyops war is none other than the Manipur Police, our frontline warriors in the battle for truth and tranquility. 

Mere hours post the November 7 impasse, on November 8, 2025, the Manipur Police issued a decisive rebuttal to a viral fabrication alleging militant incursions into villages: "It is hereby clarified that this video currently circulating on social media is of Myanmar origin and has no connection with any incident in the State. The public is advised not to believe or spread such unverified content and to refrain from creating unnecessary panic. Legal action will be initiated against those spreading such videos on social media platforms."

This proactive stance evolved into a sustained counter-narrative drive. By November 12, amid Kerry Thurr Hk's deluge, Manipur police fact-checks meticulously authenticated timestamps and traced provenance to Myanmar. Another pivotal tweet declared: "A video depicting armed militants in Myanmar is circulating on social media with the claim that they are heading towards Manipur. The public is advised not to circulate such content, as it can generate unnecessary fear and panic. Such act will invite legal action. Security Forces across the state, including those stationed in border areas, remain highly alert and are taking all required measures to uphold peace and ensure public safety."

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Who, then, wages the true defense against this digital onslaught? The Manipur Police—valiant custodians enduring monsoons at barricades, navigating treacherous peripheries under perpetual peril, and now commanding the virtual battlefield with rapid verifications that avert catastrophe. 

In synergy with the Indian Army and Assam Rifles, they fortify frontiers, maintain supply lifelines, and neutralize falsehoods preemptively.Regrettably, rather than acclaim, their social media presences endure barrages of vitriol and mockery from uninformed users who disseminate unverified clips without discerning antiquity from novelty. 

Such conduct is not merely ungrateful but sabotages the institution laboring tirelessly to restore harmony.Permit the Manipur Police unfettered execution of their mandate; eschew derision directed at the bulwark shielding us from psyops manipulation. Our collective destiny hinges on their tenacity—the cadre expending every ounce of resolve to quell violence and bridge communal chasms.

With unmatched boots-on-ground intelligence, battle-hardened counter-insurgency expertise, and an ironclad commitment to unity, these security forces alone can dismantle the web of lies, neutralize hostile narratives in real time, and deliver the decisive, credible response that no other entity can match. Entrusting this fight to anyone else risks surrender to chaos—Manipur’s stability demands their leadership now more than ever.

Our paramount countermeasure in this information skirmish is rigorous fact-verification sourced exclusively from authoritative entities: Manipur Police, the Official Directorate General of Assam Rifles (DGAR), or the Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI). The Kuki Army's psyops objective is unequivocal—to engender terror and hysteria. We must resolutely evade their snare.

Back them, share their clarifications. The border is heavily guarded; infiltrators can't slip through unnoticed. Claims of "coming to Manipur" are bluffs, meant to boast rather than execute. But bluffs can kill if they spark communal violence. Meiteis, feeling targeted, might arm themselves further, leading to reprisals. This is what these Kuki militants wanted. 

Do not forward fear—forward the facts. Do not amplify division—amplify the duty of Manipur Police!