Guwahati: A Kuki-Zo group has condemned what it described as the continued arbitrary detention and targeting of Kuki-Zo individuals by state and central law enforcement agencies, particularly the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In a press statement, the group accused the agencies of selective and biased enforcement and alleged that the actions reflected a pattern of what it described as “state-sponsored victimisation”.
The group said the Kuki-Zo community was already facing what it described as severe and systemic persecution, including restrictions on movement, denial of access to essential medical supplies and disruption to education, careers and livelihoods.
It alleged that Kuki-Zo people were being victimised by both Meitei and Naga communities and questioned the government’s response to what it described as violations of constitutional rights.
“The Kuki-Zo people cannot accept further victimisation by a government that is meant to protect all citizens equally,” the statement said, while questioning the government’s policy towards the community.
The group said Kuki-Zo people were “inherently peace-loving” and had consistently adhered to the Constitution of India. It, however, warned that continued detentions, harassment and what it called structural oppression could push the situation to an “intolerable tipping point”.
It further said the community would not accept being treated as “second-class citizens” in its ancestral homeland.
The statement included a warning that if the state continued to treat Kuki-Zo people as targets rather than citizens, the community would be left with “no choice but to carve our own path by whatever means necessary”.
The group also said it considered a “glorious death” in a struggle for the freedom, dignity and survival of its people preferable to living under what it described as inhumane conditions and subjugation.
It called on central authorities, human rights bodies and international observers to intervene, halt what it described as biased detentions by the NIA and state forces, and restore what it termed equal law enforcement.
The group also called for action to address what it described as the severe humanitarian crisis facing the Kuki-Zo community, warning that the situation could deteriorate further if its concerns were not addressed.