The Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) has rebutted the recent directive issued by the Kuki Students’ Organisation (Ukhrul District), instructing villages in Ukhrul and Kamjong to install signboards identifying themselves as falling under Kangpokpi District, is an outrageous, illegitimate and deeply provocative act that deserves the strongest condemnation.
The statement of TKS reads, “this so-called directive is not merely an irresponsible organisational communication; it is a direct affront to the constitutional authority of the Government of Manipur, a brazen challenge to lawful administrative governance and a dangerous attempt to create territorial confusion through coercion and intimidation.
“Let it be stated unambiguously: No student body, civil organisation or extra-constitutional entity possesses the authority to alter district jurisdictions, impose territorial classifications, issue coercive compliance directives or arrogate powers that constitutionally belong solely to the State.
“The power to define administrative boundaries, district jurisdictions, governance authority and territorial administration lies exclusively with the Government acting under constitutional and statutory mandate not with self-appointed organisations attempting to manufacture alternate realities through threats and unilateral declarations. attempting to manufacture
“It must be unequivocally stated that the ancestral lands and traditional jurisdictions of Ukhrul and Kamjong belong to the indigenous Tangkhul Naga people, whose historical ownership predates present disputes and political provocations. Communities residing within these traditional lands through coexistence or customary accommodation cannot unilaterally rewrite historical realities or assert territorial claims over lands that are not theirs by traditional traditional ownership.
“By directing villages to falsely declare themselves under a different district administration, threatening inspections and warning of punitive action against non-compliance, the KSO has crossed far beyond the bounds of civic engagement and ventured into the dangerous territory of administrative subversion and unlawful intimidation. This is nothing less than an attempt to establish a parallel authority structure.
“At a time when Manipur continues to reel from violence, displacement, inter-community mistrust, and grave insecurity, such reckless provocation is profoundly irresponsible and dangerous. Rather than contributing toward peace, reconciliation and stability, this directive appears deliberately designed to inflame tensions, provoke confrontation and deepen existing fault lines.
“The issuance of threats against villages in such a sensitive environment is an act of dangerous irresponsibility. Traditional jurisdictions, ancestral lands and established administrative identities cannot be altered through coercive notices, fabricated narratives or pressure tactics. Territorial questions, where. they exist, must be addressed only through lawful constitutional mechanisms; not through intimidation campaigns orchestrated by non-state actors.
‘The Saklong, therefore call upon the Government of Manipur, the District Administrations of Ukhrul, Kamjong and all relevant law enforcement agencies to take immediate cognisance of this grave matter and:
1. Initiate immediate investigation into the individuals and entities responsible for issuing, authorising and circulating this provocative directive.
2. Prevent any attempt to erect misleading, coercive or unlawfully imposed territorial signboards in affected villages.
3. Take appropriate legal action against any attempts to intimidate villages, disturb public peace or create extra-constitutional parallel governance structures.
4. Provide immediate assurance and protection to all affected villages against coercion, pressure or retaliatory threats.
To the Kuki Students’ Organisation, this must serve as a clear warning: Student organisations exist to uphold democratic dialogue, civic participation and peaceful engagement; not to function as instruments of territorial coercion, intimidation and political provocation. Administrative authority cannot be seized through arbitrary notices. Territorial claims cannot be manufactured through coercion. Peace cannot be built through threats.
“We further urge all village authorities, youth-bodies and citizens to reject such unlawful instructions, remain peaceful and must remain loyal to your rightful land owners, if you respect and wants lasting co-existence.
“Manipur is already bleeding. Those who seek to ignite it further through reckless provocation must be held fully accountable” added the statement issued by Information and Publicity Wing of TKS
