After Manipur Blast, Civil Bodies Duel Over Questions On 'Buffer Zone'

Civil society organisations in Manipur are duelling with statements and memorandums over attacks on villagers who have returned home from relief camps to foothill areas where the district borders meet. A long list of statements from the affected communities serve as evidence of their constant arguments.

Some of the organisations are registered; many are not. The unregistered civil society organisations, or CSOs, only exist as groups of people under a letterhead.

While "buffer zone" is not a new row, the IED blast sparked the latest exchange of statements over the use of the term to describe areas at district borders that lie between Meitei and Kuki settlements.

Manipur Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam on Tuesday went to a village in Bishnupur district, 40 km from the state capital Imphal, days after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off and hit two civilians. At the village, Akoijam alleged the security forces stopped him from walking freely due to the "buffer zone", which he called "illegal".

"Some people are stopped at these buffer zones as they belong to the Meitei community, while some are stopped as they belong to the Kuki community. Is this what the Constitution tells us?" said Akoijam, who on Thursday also announced he has asked queries under the Right to Information Act to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking clarification on the legal basis for keeping "buffer zones" in Manipur.

No question on "buffer zone" in Manipur came from either of the only two MPs from the border state during the winter session of parliament.

Reacting to the MP's visit, a CSO called Kuki Human Rights Council in a statement said the MP should respect the "Kuki-Meitei boundary buffer zone."

"A viral video clip shows MP Akoijam standing on the ground and approving the buffer-zone is a boundary between Kukiland and Manipur state created by Delhi. KHRC appeals to all stakeholders to respect the buffer zone and work towards a peaceful resolution," it said in the statement signed by its president Hoiboi Touthang and vice president Gavriel K Simte.

'Divisive And Unconstitutional Narratives'

Another CSO, People's Alliance for Peace and Progress, Manipur, or PAPPM, in a statement alleged that the "self-styled Kuki Human Rights Council" made "inflammatory, misleading, and divisive statements".

"These statements are riddled with falsehoods, devoid of constitutional basis, and represent a calculated attempt to reignite tensions and sabotage the fragile peace that the people of Manipur are striving to restore. Manipur is, and shall forever remain, an integral and indivisible part of the Republic of India. The State of Manipur constitutes a single, unified administrative and territorial entity. There exists no political, legal, or constitutional recognition of any entity called 'Kukiland' within its boundaries," PAPPM said in the statement signed by its president M Bobby Singh.

PAPPM said it "categorically and unreservedly rejects the concocted narrative of a so-called 'Kuki-Meitei boundary buffer zone,' which has no grounding in law, fact, or reality."

"In this regard, PAPPM draws attention to the official clarification issued by Manipur Police on May 21, 2024, which categorically stated that no 'buffer zone' exists anywhere in Manipur," PAPPM said, adding the police had said the so-called "buffer zones" were simply "sensitive areas" where the security forces have been deployed as a temporary and preventive measure to prevent violence.

"These deployments do not signify boundaries, partitions, zones of separation, or any form of territorial reorganisation. Any claim to the contrary is deliberate disinformation intended to mislead the public and inflame passions," it said.

'Stop Attacks, Restore Peace'

The line-up of the statements on the "buffer zone" row got another addition: Liklam Ngakpa, a CSO of the Meitei community. In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Thursday, it raised concerns over a firing incident that happened on December 16, 2025 in a village where people from the Meitei community returned from relief camps to rebuild their lives, following the outbreak of violence in May 2023.

Liklam Ngakpa then appealed to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order and ensure free movement of all communities on Manipur's highways.

"Urgent opening of the National Highways, which are the only lifelines of the state. Continued blockade of these highways violates the rule of law, disrupts essential supplies, and threatens public safety and national unity. Lawful order must be restored without further delay," it said in the memorandum.

There is no clarity on free movement for all communities in Manipur, locals especially those living in the valley surrounded by hills have alleged.

Kuki civil society organisations and their two dozen insurgent groups in talks with the Centre and the state government under the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement have insisted the physical distance between the two communities must be maintained till the time a settlement to the Manipur crisis is found.

Meitei civil society organisations have alleged their Kuki counterparts have been stopping internally displaced persons (IDPs) from returning to the valley areas in order to keep denying highway access to valley residents and keep the pot boiling. Access to the airport, which is in the valley, is not blocked for any community and disinformation is being spread by vested interests to keep tension alive, the Meitei organisations said.

The Kuki tribes in southern Manipur's Churachandpur who don't take flights out from Imphal valley travel either by a helicopter service or vehicles through a long, bumpy journey on bad roads across the hills all the way till Mizoram's Aizawl. Patients suffering from serious medical conditions such as cardiac problems face the biggest risk if they need to be taken to hospitals in another state or district, a doctor in Churachandpur told NDTV on phone early last year.

In September 2025, the Kuki Zo Council's (KZC) denial of claims that it allowed free movement on NH-2 created confusion since the Centre had in a statement said the "KZC decided to open National Highway-2 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods."

The KZC had said no Meitei or Kuki should cross the "buffer zone" under any circumstances, as there is "still no settlement or agreement to the conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities."

Meitei organisations have said the fundamental right to free movement provided by the Constitution is being dictated by insurgents and private organisations, not enforced by the government.

Over 260 have been killed and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced since the ethnic violence began in May 2023.