The Kuki student body recalled that in September 2023, even the Editors Guild of India faced FIRs and hostility after documenting partisan reporting by Imphal-based media
BY PC Bureau
August 27, 2025 — The Kuki Students’ Organisation–General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ) has criticised what it described as a “pattern of intimidation” against independent organisations and individuals who publish findings on the ongoing Manipur conflict that do not align with the Meitei narrative.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the student body said the latest target is the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), following the release of its report on the ethnic violence in Manipur. According to KSO-GHQ, civil society groups such as the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) and others in the valley have responded with counter-statements, legal threats and FIRs.
The organisation said this was not an isolated case. It recalled that in September 2023, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) had faced similar backlash after sending a fact-finding team to assess alleged partisan reporting by Imphal-based media outlets. The EGI’s report, released on September 2, 2023, was strongly opposed by the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM), with the then state government under Chief Minister N. Biren Singh even filing an FIR against the guild.
READ: KNO Leader Questions Manipur MP’s Stand on PUCL Report
Responding to COCOMI’s latest press statement, dated August 26, which claimed to speak “on behalf of the people of Manipur” in rejecting the PUCL tribunal report, KSO-GHQ said such assertions were misleading. “COCOMI may speak on behalf of the Meitei community, but it does not possess the legitimacy to speak for the entire population of Manipur,” the organisation said.
It further added that COCOMI is “irrefutably a Meitei civil society organisation working solely in the interest of the Meitei community” and therefore cannot claim to represent the views or interests of all communities in the state.
“The rejection of the PUCL report by COCOMI does not reflect the collective voice of Manipur,” KSO-GHQ stated, calling attempts to portray it otherwise “unacceptable.”
