The message overlaid on the video — “no peace, no popular government” — leaves little doubt about the intention of the insurgents. It appears to be aimed at scuttling efforts to form a popular government following a year-long President’s rule in the state
The killing of Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh in Manipur’s Churachandpur district is not merely a crime against an individual, but it is a calculated provocation aimed at reopening the ethnic wounds of a state that has barely begun to heal. The chilling video of Singh, a 28-year-old from the Meitei community, kneeling with folded hands and pleading for his life before insurgents shooting him down point-blank, is intended to shock, intimidate and inflame.
The message overlaid on the video — “no peace, no popular government” — leaves little doubt about the intention of the insurgents. It appears to be aimed at scuttling efforts to form a popular government following a year-long President’s rule in the state.
This incident shows that Manipur has to go a long way for peace. The division between the majority Meitei community — Hindus living mostly in the valley — and the minority Kukis, who live on the hills — is deeply entrenched in the psyche of people.
The fight that began as a dispute over land rights, political representation and demands for Scheduled Tribe status for Meiteis, spiralled into widespread ethnic violence in 2023. Though the Centre brokered a compromise through Suspension of Operations agreement, the latest killing shatters any pretension of peace in a state that has split vertically.
Rishikanta Singh was killed when he travelled to Churachandpur — a district dominated by Kukis — to meet his wife, who belongs to the Kuki community.
The location moves the needle of suspicion towards the Kukis. However, both the Kuki National Organisation and the United Kuki National Army, disowned responsibility for the cold-blooded murder.
By targeting a Meitei married into a Kuki family, the perpetrators seek to poison the fragile human bridges that still exist across ethnic lines. This is a warning signal for the Central and state governments. Law and order cannot remain hostage to armed groups. Manipur has bled enough.
