Manipur violence is attack on indigenous people, not ethnic conflict: MIA
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 24 2026: The Manipur Indigenous Alliance (MIA) today said the ongoing violence in Manipur is not an "ethnic conflict" or a "communal clash" but a sustained and systematic attack on the Indigenous people of the State.

Mislabelling the violence denies justice to victims and protects aggressors, it said.

In a statement, the Alliance said recent killings are not random.

It cited the kidnapping, murder and dismemberment of six Liangmai Nagas from Konsakhul, the beheading of a Liangmai Naga civilian at Makui Ashang, continuous attacks in the Makui area aimed at displacing Liangmai Nagas and carrying out ethnic cleansing, and the killing of three Meitei woodcutters at Khongbal Sunurok Uyok hills.

These incidents, it said, are the result of a deliberate, decades-long policy of political appeasement and administrative sabotage.

MIA raised four demands for immediate structural reform.

It demanded that the Government officially acknowledge that the violence is an attack on Indigenous people; dissolution of Kangpokpi district and merger of its territories into neighbouring districts like Tamenglong and Ukhrul to break territorial consolidation of armed groups; immediate abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) regime, stopping monthly stipends to militants and investigation into Sinai Camp and other camps; and halting illegal encroachment of reserved and protected forests, wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries, stopping illegal villages and poppy cultivation and action against officials who enabled land grab.

The Alliance called upon the people to respond through democratic and constitutional action and elect representatives who will protect Indigenous people.

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