In this file photo, people join a rally in Chennai city for end of violence and restoration of peace in India’s Manipur state. (AFP)
The nearly month-long hostage crisis among indigenous Christian tribes in strife-torn Manipur state in northeastern India is showing signs of resolution with the release of 14 Kuki people following intervention by State and Church leaders.
The announcement of the release of the hostages on June 9 was made by the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Naga people in Manipur.
Its president, Ng Lorho, said the “detainees” were released following a commitment made by Federal Home Minister Amit Shah through Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, a Christian, to “put in all efforts to establish the status of six missing Nagas.”
He also thanked various church and tribal bodies and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, also a Christian, for their support in solving the crisis.
The six missing members of the Naga community are believed to be in the custody of an armed group associated with the Kuki community.
The UNC had originally planned to release the 14 Kuki hostages on June 1, but this was postponed due to opposition from within the community in the absence of concrete assurance about the release of the six Naga people.
The hostage crisis unfolded in the state following the killing of three Baptist Church leaders in an ambush on May 13, allegedly by armed men associated with the Naga community.
This led to the abduction of 23 Kuki farmers and laborers and 15 Nagas. No group officially claimed responsibility, but Church leaders called them retaliatory actions.
Some 31 hostages from both sides were released in the following days after the intervention of Church and civil society leaders, along with police and political leaders.
However, the Kukis said their 14 people were still missing and accused Nagas of abducting them, while Nagas claimed their six men were in the custody of the Kukis.
Both sides continued protests and imposed an economic blockade, which disrupted the transportation of essential commodities into each other’s areas.
Tensions appear to have eased after the latest release of hostages.
The Kuki Christian Leaders’ Forum (KCLF) in a statement expressed its “heartfelt appreciation” of the Naga organizations for their “noble and courageous decision to release the 14 hostages safely and unconditionally.”
This act reflects “the true Christian spirit of compassion, mercy, and reconciliation, and it is deeply appreciated,” it added
The Kuki forum said this brings a ray of hope for peace to reign once again in Manipur and a renewed commitment to reconciliation among communities.
It also urged all church leaders to seize the opportunity to find a permanent solution to the ongoing crisis in the hills of Manipur.
“Let us reject violence and work together to build mutual trust and understanding,” the statement said.
It, however, made no mention of the six missing Nagas suspected to be in the custody of armed men associated with the Kuki community.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh welcomed the safe release of hostages as “a positive and humanitarian step.”
A Church leader based in the state told UCA News on June 10 that the development was a major relief for the various Christian communities.
“But we will be able to have complete peace only when the missing six Nagas are back with their families,” he said.
The hostility between the two indigenous Christian communities began following the killing of two Naga men on April 18.
The Nagas blamed the Kukis, who denied the allegation. But the subsequent clashes between them killed at least 12 people from both sides.
The state has been in turmoil since May 3, 2023, when unprecedented ethnic violence erupted between the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo community and the mostly Hindu Meitei community.
The violence has claimed over 260 lives and displaced over 60,000 people, the vast majority of them Christians.
More than 11,000 houses, 360 churches, and numerous church institutions have also been destroyed.
Christians make up 41 percent of 3.2 million people in Manipur, where the majority, 53 percent, are Meiteis who control the government and the administration.
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