 Summary of this article
- A cycle of blockades and counter-blockades by Kuki Zo and Naga Tribal bodies have triggered fresh tensions.
- NH-2 has historically been Manipur’s main arterial road connecting the hill districts to the Imphal valley and to interstate transport links.
- The Kangpokpi district administration has maintained that there is “no officially notified road."
A disputed foothills road linking parts of Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts has once again become the flashpoint between Naga and Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur, triggering a cycle of blockades and counter-blockades that have cut off what Kukis describe as a crucial lifeline route.
Tensions escalated this month after incidents of violence and alleged threats, culminating in an indefiniteblockade enforced by Naga organisationsfrom January 12, following an earlier blockade imposed by Kuki groups. The standoff comes amid deepening disagreements over the construction, naming and use of what Kuki groups call “Tiger” or “German” Road, an informal network of inter-village roads through the foothills.
The foothills route itself is not a recognised national highway. However, it links interior village roads to National Highway-2 (NH-2), part of the Asian Highway network, which runs from Dimapur in Nagaland through Kangpokpi district, via Imphal, and onward towards Churachandpur.
NH-2 has historically been Manipur’s main arterial road connecting the hill districts to the Imphal valley and to interstate transport links. Since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023, large sections of this Imphal–Dimapur corridor have been avoided by Kuki-Zo community due to security concerns, increasing dependence on interior foothills routes.
According to Naga civil society representatives, the immediate trigger was an incident on January 2, when members of a Kuki armed group under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) framework allegedly entered Iring Naga village,vandalised property and wrote slogans claiming the area as “Kuki land”.
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“This is not allowed. Such acts should not happen in our land,” said one of the members of Foothills Naga Coordination Committee (FNCC), speaking about the sequence of events that followed.
On January 12, Naga villages in the foothills imposed a broader ban on movement along the route, which was subsequently endorsed by the FNCC and the Joint Tribes Council, a conglomerate of Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme Naga tribes. The blockade has now continued for nearly three weeks.
Manipur Horror: Kuki Woman Who Survived Gangrape Dies Of Trauma, Justice Eludes Family
BY Fozia Yasin |
