For two and a half years, the words Kuki and Meitei have shared newspaper headlines only as synonyms for violence, displacement, and despair. But on a cool Sunday evening in Ahmedabad, they appeared side by side for something entirely different—victory, joy, and a reminder of what unity can feel like.
India’s Under-17 football team sealed a historic 2–1 win over Iran to book a place in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia next year. And the two goals that scripted this turnaround came from two boys who carry the surnames of Manipur’s warring worlds.
Just before halftime, with India trailing, Dallalmuon Gangte—quiet, wiry, Kuki—stepped up to take the penalty. He buried it with a calmness far beyond his years. After the break, it was Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam—sharp-eyed, tireless, Meitei—who struck the winner.
Two teenagers, two identities, one dream.
In a state where thousands are still living in relief camps separated by buffer zones and the memories of burning homes are still raw, the significance was not lost. On social media, Meitei and Kuki pages celebrated “their” boys separately, but several voices rose above the divide. One Meitei group wrote:
“A Kuki and a Meitei scored tonight. If football can unite us, maybe peace can too.”
The AIFF’s 23-member squad features nine players from Manipur—seven Meitei, two Kuki. It’s a reminder that long before the conflict, Manipur was known not for its strife but for its beautiful football.
Back home, the fields of Imphal and Churachandpur—once deserted by fear—are beginning to see the thump of a ball again. In relief camps, barefoot children still chase a tattered ball with unfiltered joy. For ninety minutes during the Ahmedabad match, they forgot which side of the buffer zone they belonged to.
Yet reality remains harsh. Over 58,000 people still sleep under tarpaulin roofs. Travel between districts is restricted, President’s Rule is still in force, and more than 3,000 looted weapons remain unreturned. Six suicides in camps this year alone tell their own grim tale.
And still, somehow, this victory mattered. It showed a glimpse of the Manipur that once was—and could be again.
Two names, two goals, one India.
On a night in Ahmedabad, football did what politics could not: it made Manipur breathe together.
