Dek: Noktan Konyak Naga declares viral article ‘null and void’, says Markson Naga twisted his peace appeal into divisive piece run by Mokokchung Times, Morung Express, Ukhrul Times
Edited by: Kimbawinu Vaiphei, Kukiland Express Desk
Songpi: May 19, 2026
A Konyak Naga student from Chingngam has accused a Tangkhul man from Manipur of misusing his name to circulate propaganda on the Manipur crisis, after a viral article attributed to him was published across major Naga dailies and social media since May 1. In a clarification issued on May 17, 2026, Noktan Konyak Naga declared the piece “A Voice from Nagaland: When One Naga Bleeds, the Silence of Another Becomes Betrayal” as “null and void” and demanded it not be used for documentation or historical reference.
Noktan said his original intent was to post a simple appeal for peace on Facebook amid the escalating violence in Manipur. He alleged that Markson Naga, whom he met through the social media group One Naga Voice (ONV), “misguided” him and converted his message into a “diplomatic article” with political overtones he never intended. “My pure intention of appealing for peace was altered,” Noktan stated. The article was subsequently carried by Mokokchung Times, The Morung Express, Ukhrul Times, and several online pages, gaining wide traction for over two weeks before the retraction.
“I hereby declare that the article… is null and void, and it should not be documented or used for historical references in future from the date of this clarification,” Noktan said. He warned that those who continue to cite or circulate the article “shall be held solely responsible.” The student stressed that the published version does not reflect his genuine position and was used to push a narrative he does not endorse.
The retraction has fueled concern that the Manipur conflict is being exported into Nagaland through manipulated narratives. Observers point out that the controversy surfaced just days after the May 13 killing of three Kuki church leaders — Reverend Vumthang Sitlhou, Reverend Kaigoulen Lhouvum, and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou — allegedly by NSCN-IM (Eastern Front) in a non-Tangkhul region. Analysts warn that proxy voices and emotional propaganda risk manufacturing a larger ethnic confrontation at a time when tensions between the NSCN-IM’s Hebron Camp and Eastern Camp are already public.
Civil society leaders from both Nagaland and Manipur have urged citizens not to fall for divisive content designed to inflame communities. They said attempts to drag Nagaland into Manipur’s communal fault lines would only delay resolution and invite more bloodshed. “Escalating the situation further would lead to greater loss of life, displacement, and destruction of property across the Northeast,” one senior tribal leader in Kohima said, calling for accountability over misinformation.
