KOHUR Condemns Muivah's Remarks, Alleges History Distortion

Lamka, June 26, 2026: The Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), a United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) Special Consultative Status NGO, has strongly condemned what it described as the "malicious distortion of history" and alleged incitement to ethnic hatred in an interview given by NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah to The Week, published on June 25 under the headline, "India uses Kukis to fight a proxy war against Nagas."

In a press release issued on Friday, KOHUR alleged that the statements attributed to Muivah were not an honest recollection of history but a deliberate attempt at historical revisionism aimed at dehumanising the Kuki-Zo people, creating a moral justification for past atrocities, and legitimising what it described as the continuing campaign of violence against innocent Kuki-Zo civilians along the India-Myanmar border.

Historical Record

Addressing Muivah's claim that Tangkhul villages such as Ngahui, Chingjaroi and Chingsui were "plundered by nomadic Kuki marauders" and that "the British armed the nomadic Kukis," KOHUR asserted that these statements inverted historical facts.

According to the organisation, the Kuki chiefs of the Ukhrul and Kamjong tracts, before India's independence, were recognised custodians of law and order across the hills. During a period marked by frequent inter-village feuds and head-taking raids among Tangkhul villages, KOHUR claimed that Kuki chiefs functioned as judges, arbiters and peacekeepers. It further stated that the territorial authority of Kuki chiefs and their role in restraining bloodshed are documented in colonial administrative and ethnographic records.

The organisation also rejected Muivah's portrayal of punitive actions taken by Kuki chiefs during the Anglo-Kuki War of 1917-1919 as acts of unprovoked aggression. KOHUR stated that the conflict was one of the region's most significant indigenous uprisings against the British Empire, during which some Tangkhul villages allegedly served as spies, guides and informants for British forces. It claimed those villages were penalised because they had sided with the colonial administration, arguing that presenting these wartime actions today as evidence of "Kuki savagery" amounts to a deliberate distortion of history.

KOHUR further stated that it was ironic for Muivah to invoke the Anglo-Kuki War to criticise the Kuki people, asserting that the Kuki nation had fought against British colonial rule from 1917 to 1919 and later supported India's freedom movement by aiding Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. It maintained that the Kuki-Zo record of resistance to colonial rule and loyalty to India required no validation from NSCN-IM.

Allegations of Ethnic Violence

The organisation alleged that what it termed the falsification of history by Muivah was not merely an academic issue but an ideological tool used by the NSCN-IM over the past three decades to justify the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zo people.

KOHUR claimed that after "quit notices" were served on Kuki villages in 1992, the NSCN-IM launched a campaign of organised violence against unarmed Kuki-Zo civilians. Citing figures maintained by Kuki Inpi Manipur, the organisation stated that more than 900 innocent Kuki-Zo men, women, children and elderly persons were killed, while over 350 Kuki villages were uprooted during the violence of the 1990s, leaving tens of thousands homeless.

The press release described the massacre of September 13, 1993, at Joupi, Janglenphai and surrounding villages in present-day Tamenglong district as the most notorious incident of the campaign. According to KOHUR, around 103 unarmed Kuki villagers, including men, women and children, were killed in a single day after receiving quit notices. It added that the Kuki community commemorates the tragedy annually as Sahnit-Ni (Black Day), while alleging that no perpetrator has been brought to justice.

KOHUR further claimed that the majority of those killed during the violence were civilians, particularly women, children and elderly people, who were allegedly targeted because they were Kukis and occupied ancestral land sought for the proposed expansion of "Nagalim."

Recent Incidents in 2026

The organisation alleged that the same ideology reflected in Muivah's interview continues to influence attacks on Kuki-Zo settlements in 2026. It claimed that since mid-May this year, a series of premeditated attacks attributed to the NSCN-IM and allied groups have targeted vulnerable Kuki-Zo settlements in Kamjong, Kangpokpi and adjoining border areas.

KOHUR referred to the killing of three prominent Kuki-Zo church leaders on May 13, 2026—Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou, President of the Thadou Baptist Association India (TBAI), Pastor Kaigoulun Lhouvum and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou—who were allegedly ambushed near Kangpokpi while returning from a Baptist convention. The organisation stated that Rev. Dr. Sitlhou had recently participated in peace consultations with Naga Christian leaders and alleged that his killing reflected the intent behind NSCN-IM's rhetoric.

The organisation also cited other incidents, including the killing of farmer Haogin Lhouvum in his paddy field near Lasan on June 9, village volunteer Jangngam Hangshing during a funeral, and church leaders Head Deacon Letminlun Haokip and Youth Chairman Lunminthang Haokip during an attack on Kultuh village in Kamjong district on June 11, 2026, which it alleged also resulted in houses and a church being set on fire.

In its concluding remarks, KOHUR reiterated its condemnation of Muivah's interview, alleging that historical distortion fuels ethnic hatred and violence. The organisation called for the historical record to be preserved accurately and for justice for victims of past and recent violence involving the Kuki-Zo community.