Thousands of people across Sadar Hills in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Sunday, May 4 observed “Separation Day” to mark three years since the outbreak of the Manipur conflict on May 3, 2023.

The observance coincided with a 12-hour shutdown across Sadar Hills, affecting normal life in the region. Business establishments, private offices and educational institutions remained closed, while vehicular movement was suspended except for emergency services.

The central programme was held at Martyrs’ Cemetery in Phaijang under the aegis of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU). Thousands of members of the Kuki-Zo community, along with civil society organisations and community leaders, attended the event.

Participants paid floral tributes at the graves of those killed during the violence and observed a minute’s silence in their memory. The programme also included a ceremonial parade and a traditional gun salute by Kuki-Zo volunteers.

During the event, CoTU Joint Secretary Lamminlun Singsit read out an eight-point declaration previously adopted by the Kuki-Zo community, reaffirming its stated demands and commitments.

Addressing the gathering, CoTU spokesperson Ng. Lun Kipgen said the community had endured what he described as “travesty of justice” during the past three years of ethnic conflict in the state.

Paying tribute to those killed in the violence, he said members of the community had “sacrificed their lives to defend land, homes, pride and dignity.”

Kipgen described the observance as both a memorial event and an expression of resistance, alleging continued ethnic and religious persecution of the Kuki-Zo people. He called on the community to remain united and work collectively toward securing what he termed their “legitimacy” and rights.

He also reiterated the demand for freedom “from tyranny,” while stating that any future course of action would remain “within the confines of the Constitution of India.”

“Separation Day” is observed annually by sections of the Kuki-Zo community, while monthly programmes are conducted as “Remembrance Day” events in memory of those killed in the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur in May 2023.