The SoO promise was buried for 20 years. Without a Kuki political settlement within India, any “peace” today will only bring a bigger conflict tomorrow.
By Sasang Haokip | On July 9, 2026
Peace On Paper Is Not Peace On The Ground
There is talk that the Manipur Chief Minister may visit Kuki areas under heavy security, and that Kuki and Meitei leaders may sit together to sign a peace agreement. On paper it will look like progress. Photos will be taken, statements will be issued, and the government will call it a step toward normalcy. But paper does not heal what bullets and fire have done. Right now the people are not living together, and the land itself is separated by barricades, bunkers, and fear. You cannot sign peace over a divide that exists on the ground every single day.
The Wound Is Too Deep For A Handshake
Since 3rd May 2023, more than 260 Kuki people have been killed and over 65,000 have been displaced from their homes in the valley. Villages were burnt, families were broken, Kuki women were subjected to rape and public humiliation, including naked parades, and Kuki men were beheaded. Trust was shattered. The Meitei community too carries its own grief and anger. When pain is this raw, and when entire communities now live in separate areas with no movement, no shared markets, and no shared schools, a peace agreement that does not address the root cause will only be temporary. Hatred does not disappear because leaders sign a document.
Real Peace Needs Honesty, Not Convoys
If the CM visits, let it be with honesty, not only with security convoys. If leaders meet, let them speak about the future, not just manage the present. Real peace will only come when people can return home without fear, when the land is not cut by buffer zones and guns, and when the Kuki people have political guarantees within Indian unity. Until then, any agreement will be a pause, not a solution. The pain is still too fresh, and the people are still too far apart.
The Demand: Constitutional Political Settlement
That is why I believe there can be no permanent peace without a Kuki political settlement. We are divided by history, land, identity, boundary, blood, and the martyrdom of more than 250 Kuki people. The Kuki community has never demanded a separate country. Our demand is for the preservation of our history and identity, and for constitutional recognition of Kuki areas as a State or Union Territory within the Union of India. Without political and administrative security, the Kuki people will always feel unsafe in a structure where our voice is not protected.
A 20-Year Promise Betrayed
What hurts the most is that the promise of a political settlement was already made and then buried. The Suspension of Operations – SoO agreement with Kuki-Zo groups was signed more than 20 years ago with the Government of India. For two decades, Kuki groups have abided by SoO in good faith, expecting dialogue on political safeguards and a separate administrative arrangement. But under the leadership of PM Modi and HM Amit Shah, that commitment has been ignored, delayed, and pushed aside. Instead of honoring the SoO and moving toward political dialogue, the Centre has chosen silence while Kuki villages burned. To sign an agreement, keep people in camps for 20 years, and then abandon the political process is not governance. It is betrayal.
Stop Divide And Rule
India must also stop the old policy of divide and rule among Kuki sub-tribes and among Kuki people and leaders. For too long the Centre and State have tried to weaken us by picking favorites, creating rifts between sub-tribes, and dealing with individuals instead of addressing the collective demand of the Kuki people. This tactic only deepens mistrust. A community that has bled together cannot be broken by politics. If the Government of India under PM Modi thinks it can restore “peace” today without a Kuki political settlement, it is only planting seeds for a bigger conflict tomorrow. The next round will be more painful than what we have seen since 2023, because unresolved grievances do not disappear — they grow.
Silence Is Not Governance
What is even more painful is the silence and inaction of the Government of India under the leadership of PM Modi. For over three years the Kuki community has been targeted, displaced, and humiliated while the Centre watches. This is disgusting, this is humiliating, and this goes against the tribal communities of India and against the very spirit of the Indian Constitution. When the Union Government fails to protect its own citizens and instead allows one community to be singled out and demonized, it betrays the idea of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.” Tribal people are equal citizens of this country and deserve equal protection under the law.
