The largest students' organisation of the Kuki tribes has condemned Meitei civil society groups for demanding filing of police cases against some people who published a study on the Manipur ethnic violence under the aegis of the Delhi-based non-profit, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO GHQ) vice president Mang Khongsai told NDTV they welcome any trusted and independent organisation that wants to conduct a fact-finding mission, such as the one done by the PUCL, into the ethnic conflict.
"The Kuki community believes in justice and continues to hope for the day when the truth will be revealed regarding the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state, as well as the persecution inflicted upon the voiceless Kuki tribals by the majority Meiteis, in complicity with the state government under former chief minister N Biren Singh," Mr Khongsai told NDTV. "... The KSO firmly believes in the power of truth - for truth always triumphs, and the truth will set us free."
The KSO in a separate statement shared with the media said it is not surprised with the "another wave of counter-statements, legal threats, and FIRs [first information reports] being lodged against credible independent organisations and individuals in connection with the ongoing Manipur crisis - this time targeting the PUCL."
The top umbrella body of Meitei civil society groups, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), in a statement on Wednesday detailing some of their objections to the report in brief, said the "contents reflect bias, selective omission, and fabrication, demonising an entire community while shielding the role of narco-terrorist groups."
Responding to the COCOMI's statement, the KSO said this civil society group "may speak on behalf of the Meitei community, but it does not possess the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the entire population of Manipur."
"COCOMI is irrefutably a Meitei civil society organisation, working solely in the interest of the Meitei community, and does not represent the views or interests of other communities in Manipur. As such, COCOMI's rejection of the PUCL's report does not reflect the collective voice of Manipur, and attempts to portray it as such are misleading and unacceptable," the KSO said, adding this is not the first instance of such a reaction.
It cited "strong resistance" from the Meitei community to a report by the Editors' Guild of India (EGI) on the role of the media in reporting the strife.
"... This was in response to multiple representations alleging partisan coverage by local media outlets. The EGI's report, released on September 2, 2023, was met with strong resistance from the Meitei community. Consequently, the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) and the Editors' Guild Manipur (EGM) denounced the report and threatened legal action against the EGI. The then government of Manipur, led by N Biren Singh, subsequently filed an FIR against the EGI," the KSO said.
Apart from the COCOMI, some Meitei community leaders including Inner Manipur Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Republican Party of India (Athawale) national secretary Maheshwar Thounaojam, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, and the former chief minister had spoken out against the PUCL over the report that they called biased, unprofessional and partisan.
The reasons why PUCL must withdraw its report on the Manipur crisis.@PUCLindia pic.twitter.com/4J8CjfxZtL
— A. Bimol Akoijam (@Bimol_Akoijam) August 26, 2025
The executive summary given at the beginning of the PUCL report concluded that "the violence was not spontaneous but orchestrated, enabled by armed Meitei vigilante groups like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, and facilitated by state complicity and law enforcement failures."
READ | Manipur Violence Cases: Civil Society Body Seeks Supreme Court-Monitored SIT Probe
People from the valley community living in relief camps after they lost their homes in Kuki-dominated hill areas have also strongly criticised the report over what they called a perceived silence on the role of heavily armed and well-trained Kuki militants who participated in gunfights and recruited teens under the name of 'village volunteers'.
They have pointed out key issues missing from the report, such as politicians especially from the controversial Any Kuki Tribes (AKT) category who allegedly instigated Kuki mobs before clashes began on May 3, 2023, and the use of language seen to be biased and partisan ("Kuki-Zo communities were 'driven' out of the valley. Meitei communities 'left' tribal-dominated hill areas.")
The PUCL, currently led by rights activist Kavita Srivastava, was formed under the aegis of Jaya Prakash Narayan as People's Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights (PUCLDR) in 1976. It was re-christened as PUCL in 1980.
PUCL Responds To Criticism
Responding to Mr Akoijam's criticism of the PUCL report, Ms Srivastava said the team had "at no time the intention of dividing communities in Manipur or in any way, to thwart, put hurdles or prevent peace process in Manipur or to paint one community as a victim and another as a perpetrator or to keep the hatred and cycle of violence to continue."
She asked the Congress MP to show what is wrong or inaccurate or objectionable about the testimonies and evidence reported in the PUCL report and the findings in each of the chapters from chapters 3 to 10.
"It is quite possible that in such a comprehensive report there may be some inaccuracies or mistakes made in some part or the other. We are always open to criticism and to examine mistakes pointed out to us and make necessary corrections," Ms Kavita said.
Meitei leaders, however, pointed out there can be no excuse for factual errors and any attempt to make light of factual errors as mere inaccuracies and mistakes will be dealt with by all means available under law.
The PUCL in its report recommended the setting up of a special investigating team (SIT) under the Supreme Court's supervision to probe all cases of ethnic violence and the role of the security forces. The SIT should investigate incidents of hate speeches which occurred directly prior to and during the conflict and arrest and prosecute the perpetrators, including political figures and state functionaries, and the state government should provide adequate protection to all the witnesses, the PUCL report said.
The team members visited a number of relief camps in Manipur to talk to survivors, including children, women and elderly displaced on account of the conflict. Thereafter, a major part of the report comprised meeting people from Manipur who came to Delhi to speak to the PUCL team.
The valley-dominant Meitei community and the Kuki tribes, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. Over 260 have died in the violence and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced.
A section of Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis whose kindred tribes are spread across the India-Myanmar border region, want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.
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