The Shongthu Chate

On the eve of Christmas, there was an uneasy calm in the boundaries of the Kuki-Zo border areas adjoining Manipur, as there were intelligence inputs about possible attack by the Meitei militants. There was also audio and video doing the rounds in social media wherein the Meitei God [ Ibudhou Pakhangba ] is said to have delivered a message about possible gunfights in at least three fronts on 24 December 2023 till the next morning. Therefore, the Kuki-Zo volunteers were on high alert during the festive season. On 23 December, at about 7pm, the Kuki village guards at Yaingangpokpi had reported the movements of more than 50 vehicles, and though there was no major gunfight till the morning of 25th the Meitei Militants could be seen from a distance preparing for attack on the Kuki villages. Finally, the first attack on the Kukis in the Yaingangpokpi area came from Meitei militants at around 10am on Christmas Day, and this was followed by exchange of fire in some other fronts as well. The int

Page of Thingkho le Malcha on 24-12-2023 There has been a leaked phone conversation [audio recording] between two Meitei gentlemen doing the rounds on social media in the last few days. One of the men in the audio appears to be a priest [ Maiba ; he introduced himself as Ojha (Teacher) from Keibi] and the other someone who might be an influential person staying nearby a periphery bordering Manipur and the hills inhabited by the Kuki-Zo. Perhaps he may be a militant or social leader, as the former can be heard instructing him to perform war rituals to their lord for assistance. In the conversation, the messenger proclaims that their lord [ Ibudhou Pakhangba ] delivered a message about a possible attack on the night of 24 December which will continue till the next day. He also gave three possible fronts where the attacks will be carried out. The name of the front which will be most affected, according to him, is sadly not audible but Koubru range is the second in his list. According to

Thingkho le Malcha, 23 December 2023 On 19 December 2023, the Chief Secretary of Manipur issued a notification which said that the MST Bus service along Imphal-Kangpokpi-Mao and Imphal- Churachandpur will resume on 23 December.  Information handed out to the public on 22 December provides more detail about the schedule and bus stations. As the sun rose on 23 December, there was huge excitement in Imphal, especially at BOC and Malom, the bus-stands for Mao and CCPur. Videos were circulated showing the buses leaving for their respective destinations.  However, the situation in both Lamka and Kanggui towns remained calm, and there was no extraordinary excitement except that ITLF, CoTU, Kuki Inpi Sadar Hills, and others issued press statements cautioning the public to remain alert.  Meanwhile, to avoid any unwanted incident, particularly in Kanggui where our Naga brothers and sisters have always been given free passage, womenfolk were tasked to keep an eye on vehicles plying along the high

On 14th December 2023, 60 lifeless bodies of Kuki-Zo lying in the mortuaries of JNIMS and RIMS were airlifted to Lamka and Kanggui, the two major districts dominated by Kuki-Zo. This comes after 7 months since they were brutally murdered, some gang-raped, by Meitei mobs in Imphal. Four Meiteis, including three who were killed while attacking Kuki-Zo villages in Lamka and a woman who die of stroke, were also taken from Churachandpur Medical College to Imphal on the same day. On that day, the wind in the Kuki-Zo hills carry mournful tune with tears of joy and sadness -- joy for receiving the remains of the martyrs, and sadness for they have suffered extreme pain and agony. For the Kukis, it is customary to give a day of mourning and befitting burial to those who sacrificed their lives for a cause, and yet these martyrs had to wait for months. Going into the list of those 19 airlifted to Kanggui, and buried on 15th December, one could find a Meitei woman amongst them. Mrs. Lydia Lourembam

Though the state of Manipur in the post-colonial period refers to both the hills and the Valley, the idea of Manipur in the past has always been associated with the Imphal Valley alone. The present state of ‘Manipur’, a name popularised in the 19th century, was known by different names to different people. Whereas for the neighbouring kingdoms, it was Cassay to the Shans or Pongs; Kathe to the Burmese; Meklee to the Assamese, and Meckley to the British East India Company, for the Meiteis/Meeteis, it was ‘Kangleipak’ (kang-dry; leipak-land), signifying it is a lacustrine plain, or Meitei-Leipak or Meitrabak (Land of the Meiteis). This shows that the idea of Manipur was always confined to, and referred to, the Valley and the Meiteis. Whereas various secessionist armed groups, commonly known as the Valley-Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs), continue to use the term ‘Kangleipak’, ‘Manipur’ remains the official name for the state, and hence in this article too. In the Valley, the process of mod