Widespread outrage has erupted across the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur following the killing of Hoikholhing Haokip, wife of the village chief of Langchingmanbi, who was reportedly shot dead by armed Meitei militants on the evening of June 19 at Langchingmanbi, Lamka.
Several prominent civil society organizations, including the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), and the Joint Kuki Civil Society Organisations, have issued strongly worded statements condemning the incident and calling for immediate justice.
The KWOHR described the killing as a “cold-blooded and targeted act of violence” that, according to them, reflects an ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kuki people. Despite a government-declared buffer zone meant to prevent clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, the group alleged that Meitei militants have repeatedly violated this buffer line, escalating tensions and endangering civilian lives.
“The buffer zone is meaningless if only one side respects its boundaries,” the KWOHR statement read, accusing the state of failing to maintain neutrality and protect the Kuki population. The organization demanded the immediate arrest of the perpetrators, strict enforcement of the buffer zone, deployment of neutral central forces, and a judicial inquiry into the killing and other recent buffer zone violations.
In a separate statement, the ITLF also condemned the killing, labeling it “yet another chapter in a systematic campaign of state-sponsored ethnic cleansing against the Kuki-Zo minority.” The forum held the state government directly responsible for the deteriorating security situation and accused authorities of allowing a “culture of impunity” to prevail through inaction.
In a strong response to the incident, the ITLF announced an indefinite shutdown across Kuki-Zo territories as a mark of protest and mourning. The group called on the central government to take urgent and concrete measures to ensure the protection of tribal lives and and their ancestral lands. The Joint Kuki Civil Society Organisations later endorsed the ITLF’s call for the shutdown and expressed solidarity with the grieving family and the wider Kuki-Zo community.