Joupi is not just a village name for us. It is a wound that never heals. On September 13, 1993, over 100 innocent Kuki civilians were beheaded by NSCN-IM terrorists in Joupi and Thingsan villages in Tamenglong district. They were not armed cadres. They were farmers, fathers, mothers, and children who were told to vacate their ancestral villages and killed when they refused to leave.
I grew up hearing the testimony of survivors like Nguljahao Hangsing. They were ordered to lie face down, their hands tied behind their backs, tied to each other so no one could escape. Then, one by one, they were hacked with swords. The killers left thinking everyone was dead. Some survived with deep scars on their necks only to tell the world what happened. This was not a clash. It was a planned genocide to cleanse Kukis from what they claimed as Nagalim.
The reason Kuki people can never forget Joupi is that justice has never come. More than 1,100 Kukis were killed between 1992 and 1997, and more than 360 villages were uprooted, yet the perpetrators, the NSCN-IM, are today in peace talks with the Government of India. How can peace be built while the blood of Joupi is still crying? We are told to move on, to forgive, but forgetting without justice is a betrayal of our ancestors.
Every year on Sahnit Ni, our Black Day, we hoist black flags, we pray, and we read out the names of our dead. We remember Joupi, Thingsan, and all the victim villages and people, because if we forget the Joupi and Thingsan massacre, the world will forget that Kukis also have a right to live on our own land. Joupi and Thingsan remind us why our village guards exist, why our chiefs still stand for our people, and why we must remain united.
Now history is repeating itself. In 2026, the Kacha Naga militants of NSCN-IM have restarted a war against the Kukis, carrying out a fresh genocide. More than 30 innocent Kuki civilians have been killed again, including pastors and pregnant women. They are targeting our villages in Kamjong, Tamenglong, and Noney, just like they did in the 1990s. The method is the same – attack unarmed civilians, burn houses, and force our people to flee.
What hurts us most is the silence of India. The Government of India continues to ignore the 1,100 Kuki civilians beheaded and killed by NSCN-IM from 1990 to 1997, and today it is openly backing the perpetrators. While our people are being killed again, the Centre is giving political shelter to NSCN-IM terrorists in the name of peace talks. If India truly believes in justice, it must first deliver justice for Joupi and Thingsan before talking about Naga peace.
The Government of India must acknowledge the Kuki genocide of the 1990s before finalizing any Naga deal. The souls of over 100 beheaded civilians in Joupi and Thingsan deserve at least that. We Kukis will always remember and will never forget Joupi, Thingsan, and other villages where NSCN-IM killed more than 1,100 Kuki civilians between 1990 and 1997.
