Thousands of women from Manipur’s hill communities staged widespread sit-in protests on Sunday across key buffer zones in New Zalenphai, Gothol, and Khousabung, opposing entry by valley-based groups to the sacred Thangjing hill range for the annual pilgrimage.
The epicenter of the protest was New Zalenphai, where women lined the roads, raising slogans and holding placards asserting their political rights and demanding respect for the buffer zones. Similar demonstrations in Gothol and Khousabung echoed the same message: no unauthorized entry into the hill territories. Ngaineikim, President of the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), asserted, “We are not anti-peace, but peace cannot be forced upon us while ignoring our political identity. The Centre must engage sincerely—we will not tolerate tokenism any longer.”
KWOHR spokesperson Rebecca emphasized the community’s historical and political distance from the valley population. “Our separation—geographically, demographically, and politically—was not of our making. Until our rights are acknowledged, we will not permit movement across these zones. This land belongs to us, and we will defend it,” she said.
