Songpi, Aug 6, 2026: The Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul [WCKCSOs-Ukhrul] has strongly condemned the Tangkhul Naga Long’s [TNL] latest statement, describing it as “Late to Humanity, Loud on Hypocrisy” and an exercise in selective conscience and self-righteousness.
In its press release No. WC/PR76/08/26 dated 05/08/2026, issued from Zalenbung, Litan, the committee said it is curious that TNL now passionately invokes “freedom of movement” after remaining silent for months when Kuki people allegedly faced economic blockade at Wunghon, Sokvao and Ramva by its own people.
The committee clarified that its agitation is not against the Tangkhuls at all. It said the protest is against governmental inaction and the Government’s failure to end the selective denial of essential commodities to the Kuki people by certain groups of Meiteis and Tangkhuls.
It termed TNL’s attempt to project the protest as an assault on Tangkhul rights as a calculated diversion, adding that with due respect, the Tangkhuls are not so central to the Kuki struggle as to become the object of their agitation.
The WCKCSOs also rejected TNL’s authority to question the legitimacy of the Kuki people’s Indianness, stating that TNL is neither a constitutional authority nor a court of law to confer or deny citizenship through press communiques.
The statement further alleged that TNL’s release is littered with sensational allegations without a shred of credible evidence, and that such rhetoric may serve propaganda but not truth.
On TNL’s claim of “absolute rights” over NH-202, the Kuki body asserted that constitutional rights are not private inheritances and National Highways cannot be the exclusive preserve of any community, adding that even if TNL claimed the moon or sun as ancestral homeland, highways would remain public property.
Calling TNL’s objection to humanitarian passage for government agencies ironic, the committee said Kuki people facilitate essential government functions even during agitation, while accusing Tangkhuls of having a record of blocking security convoys, vandalising official vehicles and obstructing lawful governance.
Concluding that “selective silence has little moral authority to preach universal rights,” the committee said those who found no voice when others were deprived are now trying to lecture on humanity, and a community viewing itself as superior should be the last to sermonise on humanity.
The statement comes amid the protracted Manipur crisis since May 2023, where control over National Highways, especially NH-202 [Imphal to Ukhrul], has become a major flashpoint between Kuki, Meitei and Naga civil groups, with each accusing the other of blockades and denial of essentials, prompting frequent government intervention to ensure free movement of security and essential supplies.
