Marking two years since the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur on May 3, 2023, members of the Kuki-Zomi tribes and the Meitei community staged separate protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday, drawing attention to their ongoing grievances and demands.
Dressed in black, Kuki and Zomi demonstrators gathered under the banners of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and the Kuki-Zo Women's Forum, Delhi (KZWFD). They mourned the lives lost in the conflict and reiterated their call for a separate administrative arrangement to ensure their community’s safety and justice.
“Our people continue to suffer. We have faced displacement, destruction, and a complete lack of justice for two years,” said Gladdy Vaipay Honjan, a Kuki activist. Protesters held placards with messages such as “Freedom’s call: Separate administration” and “No justice, no peace,” while observing a moment of silence for the victims.
In contrast, Meitei community members, dressed in white, demonstrated nearby under the banner of the Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee. Their key demands included justice and rehabilitation for displaced individuals, ending cross-border militancy, removing buffer zones between communities, and withdrawing government support for armed groups under ceasefire agreements.
RK Khaidasana, a displaced Meitei protester from Churachandpur, shared his ordeal. “On May 3, 2023, around 4:30 pm, violence erupted, homes were torched, and people ran for their lives. I’ve been displaced ever since. I just want to go home,” he said.
Both communities, while protesting separately, highlighted a shared need for a long-term political resolution to the state’s ethnic conflict. Since the violence began, over 260 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 internally displaced.
The conflict stems from longstanding disputes over land rights, political representation, and social tensions between the Meiteis, who predominantly inhabit the valley regions, and the Kuki-Zomi tribes who reside in the hills.