Zeliangrong Union and KAMA denounce FIR against Golmei Ranjita Kabui, term it baseless

The Zeliangrong Union (ZU) Imphal Zone and the Kabui Mothers Association Manipur (KAMA) have issued a joint press statement strongly opposing the FIR lodged against Mrs. Golmei Ranjita Kabui, General Secretary of KAMA, by an individual identified as Kipgen from the Kuki community.
The complaint, filed on May 28, 2025, at Kangpokpi Police Station, pertains to a speech delivered by Ranjita Kabui during the National Youth Convention on Democracy, Dialogue, and Co-existence, organized by the Manipur University Students’ Union at MU Court Hall on September 9 and 10, 2023. According to the joint statement, her remarks were made in the context of the prevailing socio-political crisis in Manipur and should be understood as such.
The press note defends Ranjita Kabui’s comments as a reflection of the ground reality and historical narrative surrounding the Kuki community’s origin in Manipur. It asserts that the Kuki community has frequently distorted the history of Manipur by projecting themselves as indigenous, a claim the two organizations reject. The statement includes a critical line in Manipuri—”Kwak na wahong matu thet laga wahong oiba yaroi”—suggesting that the Kuki population has no historical roots in the region.
Further, the statement references a past incident involving Mr. Mark T. Haokip, President of the International Human Rights Association (Manipur) and coordinator in Myanmar, who in November 2021 allegedly defamed freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu by calling her a “criminal.” The joint statement decried Haokip’s remarks as deeply offensive to the Zeliangrong Naga community.
In defense of Mrs. Ranjita Kabui, the signatories, Atongpi Kamei (President, KAMA) and Lanchunlung Rwangmei (Secretary, ZU Imphal Zone), clarified that her speech was a rebuttal aimed solely at Mr. Haokip, not the entire Kuki community. They concluded that the complaint filed against her is unreasonable, personal in nature, and not legally sustainable.
The organizations have called for the withdrawal of the FIR and urged authorities to consider the broader social context in which the statement was made.