Manipur: Kuki groups seek justice after rape survivor dies; renew call for separate administration

A wave of protests and statements followed the death of a Kuki woman from Manipur whose illness, community organisations allege, was rooted in the trauma and injuries she suffered after being gang-raped during the early days of the ethnic violence in 2023.

Kuki organisations based in Churachandpur and Delhi said the woman was kidnapped in Imphal and gang-raped in May 2023. Although she managed to escape, they said she “never fully recovered from the shock and injuries”. She died on January 10 while undergoing treatment in Guwahati.

The death has again sharpened demands for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people, with groups saying coexistence with the Meitei community is no longer possible under the current circumstances.

At least 260 people have been killed and thousands displaced in the violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023. Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February last year.

In a statement, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum said the woman’s death reflected the scale of violence faced by the community. “Her death is yet another painful testimony to the ruthless manner in which the Kuki-Zo people have been targeted,” it said, adding that a separate administration was now necessary “for our safety, dignity, and survival”.

The ITLF organised a candlelight procession in her memory on Saturday evening in Churachandpur.

The Kuki Students' Organisation, Delhi & NCR, alleged that no meaningful action had been taken against those responsible despite the seriousness of the crime and repeated appeals by civil society groups. “We categorically assert that her death must be officially recognised as resulting from the violence committed against her in 2023,” the organisation said, warning that any other classification would amount to “a denial of justice and an erasure of responsibility”.

The students’ body also urged the Centre to expedite the process of creating a separate administration for tribal communities, calling it “both necessary and unavoidable”.

A women’s collective, the Kuki-Zo Women's Forum, said the victim would be remembered for her courage as much as for the injustice she endured. “For nearly three years, she carried pain that no human being should ever have to bear,” the group said.