Kuki Black Day: Extreme desperation to Nagas
- Part 2 -

CN Alen Kuki *

25th anniversary of 'Sahnit', Kuki Black Day at Churachandpur on 13 September 2018 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Can being Christian save Kukis?: Being Christian does not save Kukis from NSCN-IM aggression. On Sunday, 18 April 1993, six persons were killed at Sita Village in Chandel; On Monday, 19th April 1993, five children , all below six, were burnt alive along with the Church at Bongli village in Chandel; on Sunday 18th July 1993, three persons were killed at Sikibung village in Ukhrul district; on Sunday 19th September 1993, fifteen children (all male below five years of age) were slaughtered at Taloulong transit Camp, Sadar Hills; On Sunday 10th October 1993, Jamkhomang and his wife Tongnem were killed in a paddy field un Ukhrul district; On new year eve, Sunday 1 January 1995, five people were killed when NSCN-IM cadres attacked Haipi village in Sadar Hills, and on Saturday 14 May, 1994, fifteen people were slaughtered and burnt along with the Church at Sipimol in Tamenglong District (Haokip, Zalengam-Kuki Nation, p317).

Besides, there are multiple incidents of killings, attempt to kill and attack on Sundays which is best known to the NSCN-IM leadership. Taking advantage of the serene nature of Sundays, the NSCN-IM has forgotten its tenet 'Nagaland for Christ' but engage itself in killings and burning Churches. No Christian organization would be as ruthless, as NSCN-IM is to the Christian Kukis.

Height of cruelty on women and children is beyond comprehension. The Moltuh incident is a grim reminder of the brutality of a party with a motto 'Nagalim for Christ'. News Report of 8th October 1992 runs: Three women were murdered after being raped at Moltuh, in Chandel district; a two-month old female including two men were also killed. Dr Isaac Lamkang, Medical Officer of Chandel conducted a post-mortem of Tinkhohoi Touthang, 20 years, and reported:

Face blindfolded. Gang-raped before being killed. Throat slit up with knife. Left portion of skull completely battered up. Left breast badly bruised. A piece of stick measuring about 7 inches was found inserted in her vagina.

There are countless stories of rape and brutality on children and women which etched in the hearts of Kukis. Kukis now and then will remember the sufferings in the hands of the NSCN-IM. It is questionable to the NSCN-IM- whether rape was part of the movement against the government of India? Or was it a revenge taken on the killings of Chingsao and Chingjaroi?

Claims made to Baptist World Alliance(BWA): One peculiar trait of the Manipur Nagas is that they specialize in half-baked stories. At the shared consistencies of British and Nagas on Kukis, it is largely believed that the image of Kukis as set in colonial writings were not the account of the Kukis themselves but the Nagas who are considered peaceful and friendly.

The argument being- till the close of the Anglo-Kuki War 1917-1919, close association of Kuki chiefs with the British was neither mentioned in colonial records or any oral accounts. The hypothesis assumes proper in the fact that most of the writings that portrays Kukis in bad light often describe Nagas as peaceful, friendly and cooperative. Therefore, it is probable that the description of Kukis by colonial writers were drawn from the personal account of 'friendly' tribesmen- the Nagas.

The argument assumes infallible taking into consideration that in all these writings there has not been a single instance of the firsthand account taken from a Kuki. Lack of academic professionalism of colonial writers and the struggle for legitimacy by the Nagas under colonial powers, presumably, have led to complete distortion of the origin, history and authority of the Kukis.

The puerile habit of the Nagas is no-where there to end. The Manipur Naga Baptist Church Leaders' Fellowship (MNBCLF) submitted a report 'Facts About The Naga-Kuki Conflict' to the Fact Finding Team of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) on the September 16, 1995; later to be admonished by the BWA after it learned that the Report by the MNBCLF was one-sided, deceptive and misleading.

The report prepared and submit ted to the team of the BWA is a reminder of how shrewd they are to the BWA as they were to the Colonial masters. The report was loaded with flaws. The MNBCLF, without any pause, blames Kukis as the aggressor in the conflict. As deceptive the Nagas were, the report begins with the bygone history of Kukis atrocities towards its subjects- the Nagas, in the 18th and 19th centuries, which in fact, was a case of a 'ruler' and a 'ruled' in the pre-Christian period in the region. Further, the MNBCLF leveled charges against the Indian Armies as colluding with the Kukis. This in fact was a ploy to beguile the international community through the BWA.

MNBCLF's attempt to demonize Kukis in its counterfactual report has misinformed Nagas of which Sira Kharay is one. Kharay heavily quoted the allegation made by the MNBCLF against the Kukis without ever ascertaining the fact that MNBCLF itself was a religious- lobby group of the NSCN-IM. A sound views demands the understanding of the other. Kukis as the aggressor, its charges of Indian Army/ RAW involvement, as a refugee are simply the Tangkhul- Naga Worldview.

Peace initiative and the death of Lalkhohen: Surprisingly, Sira Kharay's lengthy write-up did [not] ever mention any peace effort during the period. Kuki Inpi Manipur convened a Meeting with the United Naga Council on 23rd August 1993 to jointly formed a peace committee called 'Committee for Restoration of Normalcy (CNR)', with the objective of restoring peace between conflicting parties which earlier was a planed genocide carried out by NSCN-IM. According to the projected agenda of CRN meeting slated to be held on October 2, 1994, killings and kidnappings were to be shunned along the National Highway (NH-2/39).

Lakhohen being an active member of CNR and advocacy of peace could not attend, so the meeting was rescheduled on 6th October 1994. Lalkhohen came all along from Kangpokpi to attend the CNR meeting at MBC Centre Church, Imphal. At the entrance of MBC, he was greeted by four youths in polite manner. A banner campaign 'Kukis and Nagas appealed to make all highways safe for all (CRN)' was also released and distributed all over the state.

However, after the meeting when Lalkhohen Thangeu, also Vice- President KIM, was on board the bus at Khuman Lampak, he was forcefully pulled down and taken away by the four youths who greeted him at MBC entrance gate. Frantic search was conducted but his decomposed body was found two days later at Hatta, along JN Hospital. As per reports, Lalkhohen was taken to Joyland Naga Village (was Tongkoi Kuki Village) and tortured to the extreme.

After being tortured to death, his lifeless body was stuffed in a gunny bag and brought to Imphal. As per the forensic examination, and as described by Khongsai (The Kukis unforgettable Patriot, 2014), the body bore forty-five blade marks, besides leaving his torso and pate were apart.

The brutality as shown to CRN member Lalkhohen by NSCN-IM is another reminder of how sadistic NSCN-IM is to the Kukis. With the death of Lalkhohen all peace initiative has been inoperative, further giving NSCN-IM the free hand to kill Kukis. Similarly, the UNC lackadaisical response on the peace initiative was rather dumbfounding. In the early days of the formation of CRN, a UNC leader conveys their helplessness to support CRN without the sanction of Th. Muivah, the NSCN-IM leader.

After all peace efforts were turned futile, the claim made to the fact finding team of BWA by MNBCLF is rather abhorrent and diabolical. The MNBCLF report concluded, "…while the Nagas are genuinely concerned for bringing about normalcy and have tried various ways, the Kukis are not responsive". In this regard, it is worth questioning: where were the MNBCLF during the height of the genocide? Why did the UNC distance itself from the CRN? Did the MNBCLF ever cross-examined Kukis as well before presenting reports to the BWA? Where have the Christian teachings on being fair on judgment gone?

Conclusion

Sira Kharay's whole argument is based on colonial historiography and NSCN-IM's propaganda of warfare which otherwise is far from truth. Before being glued this was, as Kharay does, it is advisable to take into consideration the veracity of facts. By invoking colonial writings extensively, the colonial advocate have gone against his Naga counterparts on the issue of authenticity of colonial writing in the reconstruction of Naga history. Moreover, Kharay argument that Kukis as the aggressor is intentional and calculative. To avoid any conflict in his argument, he chose to stick his accounts to the reports of MNBCLF, which is one-sided in nature.

Furthermore, the existence of MNBCLF is not known till today. Its leadership, its organizational structure, functions and jurisdiction is unknown till today. Yet the reports prepared by them remains the most reliable one for the Nagas. Nevertheless, the existence of such organization is not new to the Nagas, under the leadership of the NSCN-IM. Women for Just Peace (WJP) are another publicity group advocating NSCN-IM, as MNBCLF is. Kharay's reliance on such shadowy organizations, will not gave him leverage in his arguments. It simply reminds how desperate Naga intellectuals are in the struggle to regain the good image of the exploited slogan "Nagalim for Christ" to the international community.

Naga scholars often cited the genocide in the 1990s as a continuation of the 'historical conflict' between Kukis and the Nagas in the past. However, had there been conflict between Nagas and Kukis, as described in colonial literatures, it would have meant the Nagas of Nagaland- the Angamis in particular whom Alexander Mackenzie described their ferocity can be put to test only by the Kukis.

It may be made clear that Nagas of Manipur were the subjects of Kukis chiefs, and any action taken against Naga villagers were a case of the ruler and the ruled. The killings at Chingsao and Chingjaroi were punishment for acting against the interest of their masters. In the most primitive way of governance where power and authority comes with subjections of the other through force, nothing is left to be done other than being apologetic to the killings taking place centuries or more ago.

Surprisingly, the Nagas under the NSCN-IM has drawn emotional patronage by widely and continuously propagating the killings in the bygone centuries. Many a times, as Kharay does, Nagas describes Kuki genocide of 1990s as 'historical conflict' which is nothing but a sordid justification of the crimes against humanity committed by the NSCN-IM. Moreover, it is dumbfounding that atrocities committed by the primitive Kukis several centuries ago got avenged by Christian Nagas.

NSCN-IM's atrocities under the banner 'Nagalim for Christ' are rather a slap on the face to all Christians. While it completely ditched the teachings on FORGIVENESS during Kuki Genocide, the Nagas today ruminate around forgiveness never like before as Kukis Observed Black Day (Sahnit-Ni) as a mark of remembrance on sufferings inflicted by the NSCN-IM.

If the claims that Kuki genocide launched by NSCN-IM was a continuation of what is called 'historical conflict', Nagas' armed movement is nothing but a sadistic revenge taken by the Tangkhul- led NSCN-IM under the pretext of Naga political movement.

To be continued.....