June 27, 2026 — The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), a United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) Special Consultative Status NGO, has flayed remarks made by Thuingaleng Muivah, General Secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) or NSCN-IM, in a recent interview with The Week magazine.
In the interview, published around June 25 under the headline “India uses Kukis to fight a proxy war against Nagas,” Muivah was quoted as recalling stories told by his mother during his childhood, claiming that Tangkhul Naga villages such as Ngahui, Chingjaroi, and Chingsui “were plundered by nomadic Kuki marauders” and that “the British armed the nomadic Kukis.”
KOHUR described the remarks as a “malicious distortion of history” and a “calculated act of historical revisionism” aimed at dehumanising the Kuki-Zo people, manufacturing a pretext for past violence, and legitimising continuing attacks against Kuki-Zo civilians along the India-Myanmar border.
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KOHUR Presents Counter-Narrative
In a press release issued on June 26, KOHUR said its objective was to “set the historical record straight.” The organisation argued that Kuki chiefs in the present-day Ukhrul and Kamjong regions historically served as recognised custodians of peace and order, helping to curb inter-village conflicts and head-taking raids among Tangkhul villages during the colonial era.
According to KOHUR, punitive actions taken by certain Kuki chiefs against some Tangkhul villages during the Anglo-Kuki War (1917–1919) were directed at villages that had allegedly served the British administration as spies, guides, and informants against the Kuki resistance. The organisation described the Anglo-Kuki War as one of the region’s major indigenous uprisings against British colonial rule.
It contended that portraying those wartime actions as evidence of inherent “Kuki savagery” amounted to a deliberate distortion of historical events that occurred more than a century ago.
The organisation also pointed to what it called the “bitter irony” of Muivah invoking the Anglo-Kuki War to criticise the Kukis, noting that the Kuki people fought an armed resistance against British forces between 1917 and 1919 and later extended support to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA) during India’s freedom movement.
Linking Historical Narratives to Ethnic Violence
KOHUR further argued that such historical narratives have contributed to ethnic violence in Manipur.
The organisation alleged that the NSCN-IM relied on a narrative of historical grievance to justify attacks against Kuki-Zo civilians during the ethnic conflict of the 1990s, resulting in the deaths of more than 900 people and the displacement of residents from over 350 villages, citing figures compiled by Kuki Inpi Manipur.
The statement specifically referred to the September 13, 1993 massacre at Joupi and neighbouring villages in present-day Tamenglong district, where about 103 unarmed civilians were allegedly killed in a single day. The incident continues to be observed annually by the Kuki community as Sahnit-Ni (Black Day). According to KOHUR, no one has been held accountable for the killings.
The organisation further claimed that the same ideology continues to fuel fresh violence in 2026.
It cited the May 13 ambush killing of three Kuki-Zo church leaders — Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sithou, Pastor Kaigoulun Lhouvum, and Pastor Paogoulen Sithou — near Kangpokpi. It also referred to subsequent incidents, including the shooting of a farmer and the killing of two church leaders in Kultuh village, Kamjong district, on June 11, during which several houses and a church were reportedly set on fire.
Demands Raised by KOHUR
KOHUR called for:
- An immediate and unconditional retraction by Thuingaleng Muivah and the NSCN-IM of what it described as false and inflammatory historical claims.
- The Governments of India and Manipur to take cognisance of the alleged use of historical falsehoods as a form of incitement, which it said violated the spirit of the ongoing ceasefire.
- A credible judicial process to ensure justice for victims of the 1990s ethnic violence, including the 1993 Joupi massacre.
- The swift identification, arrest, and prosecution of those responsible for the killings reported in 2026, along with enhanced security measures for vulnerable villages along the India-Myanmar border.
The organisation also welcomed the decision to transfer the investigation into the May 13 killing of the three church leaders to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and reiterated its demand for a transparent investigation and accountability.
Reaffirming its commitment to peaceful coexistence, KOHUR said the Kuki-Zo people remained committed to living in harmony with all neighbouring communities, including the Tangkhul Nagas. However, it stressed that genuine reconciliation could only be achieved through an honest acknowledgement of historical facts.
“Peace cannot be built upon falsehood,” the organisation said, adding that “truth is the first condition of reconciliation.”
the same ideology continues to fuel fresh violence in 2026.
It cited the May 13 ambush killing of three Kuki-Zo church leaders — Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sithou, Pastor Kaigoulun Lhouvum, and Pastor Paogoulen Sithou — near Kangpokpi. It also referred to subsequent incidents, including the shooting of a farmer and the killing of two church leaders in Kultuh village, Kamjong district, on June 11, during which several houses and a church were reportedly set on fire.
Demands Raised by KOHUR
KOHUR called for:
- An immediate and unconditional retraction by Thuingaleng Muivah and the NSCN-IM of what it described as false and inflammatory historical claims.
- The Governments of India and Manipur to take cognisance of the alleged use of historical falsehoods as a form of incitement, which it said violated the spirit of the ongoing ceasefire.
- A credible judicial process to ensure justice for victims of the 1990s ethnic violence, including the 1993 Joupi massacre.
- The swift identification, arrest, and prosecution of those responsible for the killings reported in 2026, along with enhanced security measures for vulnerable villages along the India-Myanmar border.
The organisation also welcomed the decision to transfer the investigation into the May 13 killing of the three church leaders to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and reiterated its demand for a transparent investigation and accountability.
Reaffirming its commitment to peaceful coexistence, KOHUR said the Kuki-Zo people remained committed to living in harmony with all neighbouring communities, including the Tangkhul Nagas. However, it stressed that genuine reconciliation could only be achieved through an honest acknowledgement of historical facts.
“Peace cannot be built upon falsehood,” the organisation said, adding that “truth is the first condition of reconciliation.”
