The recent statements made by Kuki-Zo organisations once again show contradiction. While condemning the killing of six Liangmai Naga civilians, they immediately added that they too are victims and that “justice must be equal.”
No one disagrees that justice should be equal. But equal justice does not mean comparing one crime with another. The murder of innocent people cannot be balanced against another community’s suffering. A crime remains a crime, no matter who the victim is or who the accused is.
The six Liangmai Naga civilians were reportedly abducted before they were killed. Their deaths were not an accident. They were brutally murdered. Their families deserve justice. They do not deserve political arguments or attempts to change the subject.
The same is true for every innocent victim of this conflict. The people of Manipur have also not forgotten the horrific killings in Jiribam. Six innocent civilians, including three women and three children, one of them an infant, were abducted and later found dead. The authorities blamed armed Kuki militants for the killings. The brutality of the crime shocked the entire country.
When such terrible incidents happen, every responsible organisation should demand that the guilty be arrested and punished. Instead, we often hear long explanations about political issues and the suffering of one community. Human rights cannot be defended only when one’s own people become victims. They must be defended for everyone.
If an innocent Meitei is killed, justice must be demanded. If an innocent Kuki is killed, justice must also be demanded. If an innocent Naga is killed, the demand must be exactly the same. Justice cannot have different standards for different communities.
Every community has suffered during this conflict. That is a fact. But suffering does not give anyone the right to excuse murder, kidnapping or arson. Pain cannot become a licence for violence.
Civil society organisations have an important responsibility. They speak on behalf of their communities. Therefore, they must also speak honestly and consistently. They cannot strongly condemn violence against one community while remaining silent or less vocal when innocent people from another community are attacked.
Peace requires moral courage. That courage means condemning every crime without adding conditions or political justifications.
The governments at the Centre and in Manipur also have important responsibilities. Every murder, every kidnapping and every act of arson must be investigated fairly and without delay. The identity of the victim or the accused should never influence the investigation. The law must be applied equally to everyone.
People also have a right to ask difficult questions. If public organisations have information about serious crimes, have they shared it with investigators? Have they helped the police identify those responsible? Have they openly demanded the arrest of the killers? These are legitimate questions that deserve clear answers.
The biggest danger today is selective justice. When one crime receives attention while another is ignored, public trust in the law begins to disappear. Once people lose faith in justice, peace becomes much harder to achieve.
Manipur does not need more competing stories about who has suffered more. Every community has suffered enough. What the state needs now is truth, accountability and equal justice.
No political demand can justify the killing of innocent people. No movement can gain moral strength by remaining silent about crimes committed in its own name or by those claiming to fight for its cause.
The people of Manipur are tired of violence. They want those responsible for every murder, every kidnapping and every act of arson to be brought before the law. They want peace based on justice, not peace built on selective memory.
The path to reconciliation begins with one simple principle: every innocent life has equal value, every crime deserves equal punishment, and no claim of victimhood can ever become a licence for violence. Only when this principle is accepted by every organisation, every community and every government can Manipur hope to move towards lasting peace.
