Manipur Bleeds, Paying a Heavy Price for Armed Militancy, Impunity and the Business of Violence

Manipur is bleeding, and its people are paying a devastating price for armed militancy, political appeasement, impunity and the business of violence. Despite repeated assurances, disproportionately large security deployments, high-level visits and official condemnations, innocent civilians continue to be killed, villages remain vulnerable to armed attacks, and perpetrators of horrific crimes too often evade justice. The recurring cycle of violence is no longer merely a security concern; it is a glaring indictment of the government's failure to protect lives, enforce the rule of law and hold those responsible accountable.

The latest killings across Manipur have once again exposed this disturbing reality. Civilian deaths have repeatedly occurred around Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh's travel engagements, raising serious questions about the government's ability to anticipate threats, maintain security and protect ordinary citizens. While the victims and perpetrators differ, the recurring violence exposes a government struggling to translate its political authority and security apparatus into meaningful protection for the people.

On 12 November, a 42-year-old woman from Taphou village in Kangpokpi district was killed by suspected Naga militants. The following day, four civilians—including a mother and her son and two siblings—were killed in an ambush in the New Haven area along National Highway 202 (Imphal–Ukhrul Road), Ukhrul district. The suspected Kuki militant attackers reportedly opened fire with sophisticated weapons from the direction of Yaolen Chepu Kuki village.

On the night of 14 November, another attack was reportedly carried out on Khamsom Poumai village in Senapati district by suspected Kuki militants armed with automatic weapons.

These incidents expose the continuing failure to protect civilians. While the Chief Minister undertakes heavily guarded travel engagements, ordinary people remain vulnerable to armed attacks. Why do deadly incidents repeatedly occur amid these political engagements? The public deserves answers, not another round of routine condemnations.

The Geographical Spread of Kuki–Naga Violence Raises Further Questions

The incidents in Taphou, New Haven and Khamsom Poumai occurred in geographically distinct locations. The confrontations cannot be portrayed as a conflict confined to the Tangkhul Naga tribe. Other Naga communities, including the Liangmai, Rongmei, Mao and Poumai Nagas, have also been affected by violence involving Kuki armed groups across Kangpokpi, Senapati, Ukhrul, Kamjong and Noney districts.

Intermittent confrontations and hit-and-run attacks on innocent civilians across different locations, despite the presence of security personnel, are a cause for serious concern. What is the purpose of the large-scale deployment of security personnel if civilians continue to be targeted and killed by armed groups?

Unless contained, the violence could spread to other parts of Manipur, including Chandel and Tengnoupal districts, potentially reviving the prolonged Kuki–Naga conflict of the 1990s. That conflict claimed more than 1,000 lives, devastated hundreds of villages and displaced tens of thousands. Manipur cannot afford to repeat that tragic chapter.

The Sleeper-Dancer CM’s Travel Spree Amid a Killing Spree

Leadership is measured not by public appearances, ceremonial engagements or official meetings, but by whether citizens are safer because of the government's actions. Condemnations, ex-gratia announcements and NIA investigation announcements have become painfully inadequate. Compensation cannot bring back the dead, prevent future attacks, dismantle unlawful armed networks or deliver justice.

The government must end appeasement, act on credible intelligence, pursue perpetrators irrespective of their political connections or armed affiliations, recover illegal weapons and protect vulnerable settlements. Displaced families must also be able to return home safely and with dignity.

Many people, including myself, have questioned the recent raid on Sinai Camp. The camp was designated to accommodate 159 cadres—93 from the KNO/KNA (Kuki National Army) and 66 from the KNO/KLA (Kuki Liberation Army)—yet only 18 individuals were found during the raid, just one of whom was a registered cadre. The Chief Minister subsequently visited the site after the operation and posed for photographs as though it were a major achievement, when, in reality, the operation exposed the weakness and failure of the present government in dealing with Kuki SoO militant groups.

Without measurable results, the Sleeper-Dancer label will remain a symbol of public frustration with a leadership that appears to awaken only when a crisis becomes impossible to ignore, before slipping back into sleep mode.

What Is the Point of NIA Investigations Without Arrests and Accountability?

What purpose does transferring cases to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) serve if perpetrators of serious crimes remain at large? Investigation must lead to identification, arrest, prosecution and conviction.

Had those responsible for the killings of three Thadou church pastors and six Naga civilians on 13 May 2026 been brought to justice, subsequent bloodshed might have been prevented. The persistent failure to deliver justice has deepened public frustration and fostered a dangerous perception that mass violence has become business as usual.

There has been no meaningful progress in the investigation into the killing of the Thadou church leaders. This may be because the investigating agency has failed to properly examine the possible involvement of Kuki armed militants, particularly the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), which was reportedly operating in the area and collecting “illegal taxes” at a KRA tax collection gate near the ambush site, including on the day of the incident. Relevant leads provided to investigators have reportedly been dismissed without proper examination.

Following the incident, a Kuki narrative emerged linking the killings to Kuki–Naga rivalry. However, if the investigating agency pursues only this line of inquiry while disregarding the possibility of Kuki militant involvement, particularly in light of the victims’ Thadou identity rather than Kuki identity, as well as the historical and ongoing Kuki–Thadou rivalry and the suppression, annihilation and persecution of Thadou people by Kuki militant groups and their proxies, the investigation risks failing to uncover the full truth.

These are all possible lines of inquiry that must be thoroughly investigated. No angle should be prematurely dismissed, and every credible lead must be taken seriously. Justice demands an impartial, comprehensive and evidence-based investigation.

The Unimaginable Brutality of Violence and the Culture of Impunity

The brutality reported in Manipur has reached horrifying extremes, including beheadings, dismemberment and torture. Recent atrocities include the discovery on 1 November of two dismembered Taphou Kuki youths in sacks; the 10 October beheading of a 52-year-old Makui Naga villager, whose severed head was reportedly displayed by armed Kuki militants; and the reported torture and killing of six Naga civilians, who were beheaded and dismembered.

In an appalling level of cruelty that no civilised society should tolerate, the victims' families also alleged that the flesh of the six Naga victims of 13 May was cooked and served to their captive family members.

Reports that Kuki militants filmed and circulated their own acts of violence, including beheadings and the display of severed heads as trophies, raise serious questions about how openly armed groups can operate without being held accountable under the law. Such brutality evokes terror tactics associated with ISIS-style atrocities.

Mangminhao Kipgen, an active cadre of the Kuki SoO group KNF(P) from J. Sontun village in Kangpokpi district, who was reportedly involved in the beheading of Ringkangmai, a Naga man from Makui, reportedly remains at large despite having been identified in a viral video showing the victim's severed head. An SoO arrangement must never become a shield against prosecution or a licence for criminal violence.

No functioning democracy should tolerate armed groups exercising unlawful authority and committing atrocities while the state remains unable or unwilling to hold them accountable. The people need arrests, prosecutions and justice, and the prevention of further killings—not merely administrative announcements.

Ex-Gratia Payments Must Not Become a Business at the Expense of Victims

Instead of demonstrating its ability to protect lives, the government appears increasingly preoccupied with announcing ex-gratia payments and transferring cases to the NIA. Meanwhile, Kuki SoO-linked organisations and political bodies, including the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), appear to have assumed roles in administering or facilitating compensation distribution. The KZC's statement of 31 October raises further questions about its involvement and the need for financial transparency.

All ex-gratia and relief assistance must be transferred directly into the bank accounts of victims' next of kin through established government channels. There must be no agents, intermediaries or unofficial deductions.

This is taxpayers' money. Compensation is a government obligation, not a political achievement to be celebrated while killings continue. It cannot substitute for justice or absolve the government of its responsibility to protect citizens.

It is widely known that Kuki organisations, including Kuki Inpi, the Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi (KKL) and other bodies, secure a percentage of ex-gratia payments and other financial assistance intended for victims of violence. No organisation should profit from bereaved families' suffering.

Beyond the alleged diversion of public assistance, serious questions have also been raised about the accumulation of wealth and acquisition of properties by individuals and organisations linked to the Kuki militant and political establishment during the conflict. Executive members of the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), the respective mouthpieces of the Kuki SoO groups United People's Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO), along with individuals linked to Kuki armed militant groups and so-called civil society organisations, have reportedly accumulated wealth and acquired properties during the height of the conflict. Individuals associated with Kuki militant leadership and alleged illegal drug and arms-smuggling operations and mafia networks have also reportedly amassed considerable wealth during this period.

The reported accumulation of wealth and property, including questions surrounding a mansion associated with Saikot MLA Paolienlal Haokip, raises further questions about the financial interests and networks operating amid the prolonged conflict. These matters warrant scrutiny, transparency and, wherever credible evidence exists, proper investigation. Who has benefited financially from the prolonged violence while ordinary people have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones? Has the suffering of the people become an opportunity for personal enrichment and vested interests?

The political dimension is equally troubling. Some have secured political rewards, including a ministerial berth as Deputy Chief Minister, as in the case of Kangpokpi MLA Nemcha Kipgen. Others, such as Saikot MLA Paolienlal Haokip, an aspirant for the Deputy Chief Minister's post, and Henglep MLA Letzamang Haokip, who had hoped for similar recognition, have been left out. This is despite their alleged roles in facilitating the formation of the political government under Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh and brokering an understanding with a particular Kuki militant group to prevent it from imposing a ban on Kuki MLAs participating in the formation of the government.

Many people have consequently felt betrayed and misled by these MLAs and the Kuki militant groups associated with them. This is particularly so given that the MLAs had spearheaded the movement for a separate administration, while Kuki SoO militant groups had declared that their political demand had shifted to a separate administration (SA) in the form of a Union Territory. Yet, they proceeded to renew the now-expired SoO agreement, which includes a condition requiring them to uphold the territorial integrity of Manipur. This apparent contradiction has raised serious questions about the consistency of their political positions and commitments.

With the March 2027 Assembly elections approaching, the public must also scrutinise whether the financial and political networks that have grown in influence during the conflict will seek to convert that influence into electoral advantage. The people of Manipur deserve transparency about the relationship between political representatives, armed groups, civil society organisations and the flow of public funds. Political power must not become a reward for appeasement, coercion or the ability to mobilise armed influence.

Manipur Needs Security, Justice and Accountable Governance

Manipur cannot continue to bleed while those responsible for violence operate with impunity and political interests take precedence over the lives and security of ordinary citizens. The people do not need more condemnations, compensation announcements, security reviews or political photo opportunities. They need results: the protection of vulnerable communities, the dismantling of unlawful armed networks, the recovery of illegal weapons, impartial investigations, arrests, prosecutions and justice for every victim, irrespective of ethnicity, political affiliation or armed connections.

The government must demonstrate that no armed group is above the law, no political connection can shield a perpetrator from prosecution, and no community's suffering can be ignored for political convenience. Public funds must reach victims without political interference or unofficial deductions, displaced families must be able to return home safely and with dignity, and the territorial integrity and constitutional authority of Manipur must not be undermined by parallel armed structures.

Ultimately, governance is measured not by political manoeuvring, public appearances or promises, but by the safety of citizens and the government's willingness to uphold the law without fear or favour. Manipur has endured enough bloodshed, displacement and broken promises. Its people deserve security, dignity, justice and accountable leadership—not another cycle of violence and political excuses.

How many more innocent lives must be lost, how many more families must be shattered, and how much more of Manipur must bleed before those entrusted with power finally act with the urgency, courage and responsibility this crisis demands?

About the Author

Jalun Haokip (MSW) is a Melbourne-based native of Manipur with professional experience in social work across mainstream and Indigenous Australian communities. He currently works as a family violence practitioner within the Victorian Government in Melbourne.