Six Naga men : The hurt, pain still lingers Drawing Meiteis and Nagas together
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It stands that it will take more than words. It will need something much more and this is something which must have registered in the consciousness of Delhi and Imphal. Manipur knows it. Delhi too must be in the know of things, that is if the correct report has been conveyed to the Central leaders, and it is something which will not be forgotten in a hurry. The six Naga men were not killed in a direct conflict between two groups of people. They were not killed in a battlefield, they were not cadres of any armed group. They were family men, people with wives and sons and daughters and sons of parents who may be alive or who may have departed. Bottomline is, they were civilians, who were out on the day they were abducted, that is May 13, 2026 and they were in a part of the land which they were familiar with and hence had nothing to fear or suspect. But as things have turned out or as history would record, the six men were among 18 Naga folks abducted at Leilon Vaiphei village on May 13 and later handed over to Kuki militants. Before their mutilated bodies were discovered on June 10, there was a lot of drama. After news that 18 Naga people have been abducted spread like wildfire, a number of Kuki men were also rounded up and kept in captivity to be released safe and sound on June 9. In between, Manipur witnessed a high octane drama with the United Naga Council announcing that the 14 Kuki men held hostage would be released. The decision had to be ultimately rolled back after the Naga people rose as one to oppose the decision, on the ground that the whereabouts of the six Naga men were yet to be known. A sort of, ‘If our men are not released, why should we release the Kuki men’ stand. A lot of communications must have followed, for ultimately the 14 Kuki men were released safe and sound and the next day the mutilated bodies of the six Naga men were discovered. Bodies recovered after the 14 Kuki men were released and one can definitely see a pattern and this would not have missed the observation of anyone in Manipur. Till today the hurt still rankles, as is obvious from the non-stop series of protests that have been held across the hills and valley of Manipur. Ironic it is, but it is on the mutilated bodies of the six Naga men that Naga organisations and Meitei organisations have come together to jointly air their thoughts and demand the arrest of all perpetrators, starting from the village chief of Leilon Vaiphei and other individuals who have been pointed out by the surviving wives of the six Naga men. It was along this line that Khwairamband Keithel witnessed the coming together of different organisations from the Naga and Meitei communities to raise the demand that the Government must crack the whip and initiate measures to book the killers.
And the starting point should obviously be the people of Leilon Vaiphei, the people who handed the captured 18 Naga people to the militants. The chief of Leilon Vaiphei should be the first person to be summoned and subjected to questioning. A point which different organisations have raised from the day Central security personnel were pressed into service to scour the hills and jungles to trace the six Naga men. This was before the mutilated bodies of the abducted Naga men were discovered. Nothing of this sort happened and now even after their bodies have been recovered there is nothing to show that some action along this line has been taken up. Why this is so is the question which has been bugging the people of Manipur but so far there has been no official intimation from the side of the Government. Equally flummoxing is also the silence maintained by the State Government over the issue. Nearly a month has passed since the bodies of the six Naga men were recovered and there is as yet no official news or report of any leader from the side of the Government coming out and stating something on the issue. Even today, the bodies of the six Naga men lie unclaimed. The wives of the six Naga men who were also taken captive earlier and later released had to be also admitted to the hospital. Amid this reality, the Government has kept quiet and this is what is hard to digest. Other than the announcement that the case would be handed over to the NIA, no one knows what other steps the Government has taken up. This is what is tough to digest.
And the starting point should obviously be the people of Leilon Vaiphei, the people who handed the captured 18 Naga people to the militants. The chief of Leilon Vaiphei should be the first person to be summoned and subjected to questioning. A point which different organisations have raised from the day Central security personnel were pressed into service to scour the hills and jungles to trace the six Naga men. This was before the mutilated bodies of the abducted Naga men were discovered. Nothing of this sort happened and now even after their bodies have been recovered there is nothing to show that some action along this line has been taken up. Why this is so is the question which has been bugging the people of Manipur but so far there has been no official intimation from the side of the Government. Equally flummoxing is also the silence maintained by the State Government over the issue. Nearly a month has passed since the bodies of the six Naga men were recovered and there is as yet no official news or report of any leader from the side of the Government coming out and stating something on the issue. Even today, the bodies of the six Naga men lie unclaimed. The wives of the six Naga men who were also taken captive earlier and later released had to be also admitted to the hospital. Amid this reality, the Government has kept quiet and this is what is hard to digest. Other than the announcement that the case would be handed over to the NIA, no one knows what other steps the Government has taken up. This is what is tough to digest.