NumitLei

Joined Twitter to back my fellow Meiteis, because who else will navigate this comedy Kuki show with me?

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

A guy with my last name just went and named a chunk of the early universe after Loktak Lake. So ,yes this story had to be pretty much mine. Jokes aside, really proud of Ronaldo Laishram @ronaldolaishram, a Manipuri scientist, working at a top observatory in Japan, leading international teams, using the James Webb Telescope - and still carrying home in his heart.
12.6 billion light-years away, there is now a giant cosmic structure named after Loktak. That's quite something! And no, we are not related :)

Full story here:
https://t.co/4otRpb5xOO

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

A Manipuri filmmaker wins a #BAFTA for her film. Nine Manipuri women are in Australia representing India at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup football. The talent coming out of Manipur, and the Northeast in general, is undeniable, global and unstoppable.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, the same tired slurs surface - 'massage waali' & more. The abhorrent behaviour of that Malviya Nagar couple is not just ignorance; it’s a reminder of how deeply prejudice still runs in mainland India.
The contrast is stark: international applause on one stage, small-minded hostility on another. The northeast keeps raising the bar. Some in the mainland are still struggling to raise their thinking.
#racism #northeast

[Nongmangkha @nomangkha]

Imphal was and is safe always!! It wasn’t the epicenter of all the chaos too!

3rd May 2023, Imphal was very much happening with normal life and leisure. Glad you did this Michael. Appreciate it.

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

Despite carrying the heavy loss of displacement and the mental trauma inflicted by violence, kids like Shitaljit Tongbram are showing what resilience is. This story brought me so much joy. Kudos to @debanishachom for unearthing stories that need to be told.
#Manipur #IDPs

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

Just listened to Prof Bimol Akoijam on the PUCL’s Tribunal Report on the Manipur Crisis. Here’s my take on his sharp analysis, not a full justice to his talk, just what my small brain could absorb. Not all is covered but few things I noted.

To start, I have to agree with Oja Bimol on the complete “bullshitting" and perception management at play. Did the scholarly PUCL team use techniques like frame theory and discursive analysis because these two methods are enough to show that facts are never neutral.

“Facts are like sacks,” he explains, "empty until shaped by the perspective that gives them meaning." The report, Prof Bimol argues, frames events to shape perception rather than present them objectively. In conflict situations, determining right and wrong is a huge responsibility, and the PUCL report’s selective framing shows why frame theory is so critical for analysing it.

The report lists four antecedents of the violence, including evictions and forceful demolitions of tribal villages, followed by protests organised by the ITLF. But here’s another gap: the K. Songjang village eviction also affected the Meitei community, a fact the report presents without context, obscuring the full picture of who suffered and why. Is this not bias?

Another point: the report takes advantage of how people remember information, making readers focus on the beginning and the end while overlooking the context in the middle. In academic terms, this is called the primacy and recency effect. Case in point: the PUCL’s executive summary claims that the violence was “orchestrated by armed Meitei vigilante groups like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, with state support,” and presents this as a categorical conclusion. Yet, later in the report, it admits that who actually started the violence is still disputed.

Prof Bimol also points out the eagerness to use materials without understanding them. For example, a social media comment was used to suggest anti-Kuki sentiment without anyone checking who actually wrote it. It’s social media, after all, yet it was presented as a broad example of anti-Kuki sentiment.

Another telling example: Kuki-Zou were “driven out,” while Meiteis “left” tribal areas. Notice the choice of words - “driven out” versus “left.” Framing matters.

And another: the PUCL report says the state seems to live in two zones: the Imphal Valley and surrounding districts closed to Kuki-Zo entry, and Hill-area roads barred to the Meitei community. Can Meiteis even go to Moreh today? The Hill districts have effectively become Kuki-Zo strongholds, inaccessible to Meitei police or politicians. Does that mean ordinary civilians can freely enter? Remember, Prof Bimol himself, a politician, could not enter Phougakchou-Ikhai Makha Leikai Keithel (Bazar) in Bishnupur district.

The report’s use of photographs is a clear example of "racist orientalism". Claiming family permission or public domain status is a weak excuse for what seems politically motivated, designed to stir hatred toward those accused of crimes. Does showing these images really promote peace, or just fuel anger?

According to the Geneva Conventions and established norms in law and war, the dead are to be treated as sacred. Publishing such photos carries a heavy ethical responsibility, one the report seems to have ignored.

The report also reduces the government’s role to merely an “ineffective response.” Prof Bimol has been saying for two years that government inaction is, in itself, a form of action.

Finally, Prof Bimol explains that we face testimonial injustice, dismissed simply because we are Meitei, and hermeneutical injustice, lacking the concepts to make our experiences understood. "We are branded as the majority: in their view, how can a “majority” ever be a victim?"

With a touch of sarcasm, he adds that the report’s authors may be victims too, trapped by their own inability to see beyond their biases. "I’m willing, for now, to give them the benefit of the doubt."

Watch the talk here👇👇

#Manipur #PUCLreport #pucl
@Bimol_Akoijam @PUCLindia

https://t.co/Bn5nCHYW51

[Baneishsingha @baneishsingha]

🚨 ₹14.69 Cr worth of cocaine smuggled from #Manipur & Mizoram to Bengaluru—caught only in Cottonpet.

If they made it past #Manipur and Mizoram police, Assam Police, multiple states, imagine how many don’t get caught.

The Northeast drug route is active, dangerous & largely unchecked.
Time to wake up.

#NortheastDrugRoute #DrugFreeIndia #GoldenTriangle
@assampolice @manipur_police @mizorampolice

[Koubru @koubru_lakpa]

Kuki narco terr0rists and their supporters are the No. 1 shameless hypocrites in the world.

When the Governor of Manipur attempted to resume free movement on National Highways, Kukis violently attacked central security forces and the commuters.

Now these same people are demanding free movement on an ILLEGAL ROAD passing through STOLEN lands of the Nagas.

@RajBhavManipur
@LIANGMAIPOST
@ukhrultimes
@NBirenSingh
@ndtv
@NepCorres

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

Finally, read the in-depth NDTV investigation exposing a complex web of corruption, coercion, land rights confusion, and the alleged involvement of the Kuki National Front (KNF), an insurgent group currently in peace talks with the Indian govt, in siphoning off compensation linked to a major infrastructure project in conflict-affected Manipur.

https://t.co/GQxWa3bu6B

Interesting how Greeshma Kuthar , an independent journalist ,who has heavily capitalised on the Manipur conflict, immediately accused NDTV of “stealing” her story without attribution.

She claims, “I reported about the illegal Asian highway acquisition + corruption in Kangpokpi (https://t.co/5m5x0wJi82) after which @ndtv stole my story with ZERO attribution even though I was told they came sniffing for it one week after my report came out along with BJP politicians.”

I have learnt first hand that NDTV had been going through documents and bank statements from the first week of June after filing request for information much before that. She just assumed NDTV did a follow-up based on her story published on July 1.

Just because Kuthar has extensively covered the Manipur conflict, she seems to believe she has exclusive rights to every investigation in the region as if only she is capable of reporting on these issues. Such a juvenile reaction, especially with no concrete evidence of plagiarism. She hasn’t pointed out whether NDTV copied her specific research, interviews, or original findings.

Reminder: There is no copyright on facts. If NDTV conducted its own investigation using different sources, interviews, or documents, it’s not theft, it’s parallel reporting.

Instead of constructively engaging,say, pointing out where attribution might have been due, she frames it as a personal grievance. Wah! Her public outburst comes across as unprofessional and unsubstantiated.

Also, NDTV’s report includes bank statements showing suspicious payments to middlemen, testimonies of many people from among over 20 villagers, legal documents (court orders, land records), internal dynamics of KNF (denial and splintering between UPF and KNF finance secretary).

Does Greeshma’s report contain all this?
#Manipur @debanishachom @ndtvfeed @jeegujja

[NDTV @ndtv]

Satellite Data Shows Manipur Lost 52,000 Acres Of Forest In 4 Four Years: Study
https://t.co/aVnvtWvayT

[BHARAT @hitmankingsman]

Time for India Bangladesh and Myanmar to crackdown on Kuki Militants. They are spreading like a virus and must put an end to it else it will eat up the region.

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

#Modi’s dig at “small-eyed Ganesh idols” may have been intended to promote local artisans, but it comes across as a mockery of the physical features of millions of Indians - especially those from the Northeast.

Epicanthic folds aren’t "Chinese" - they’re as Indian as the Himalayas. Yet, by linking them to "foreignness," he reinforces harmful stereotypes. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t set foot in #Manipur for two years - hard to face people you’ve spent years sidelining.

https://t.co/5uuVt11idP

[The Assam Rifles @official_dgar]

The authenticity of the photograph is being verified. Based on confirmation suitable disciplinary action will be initiated against all the defaulters.

Assam Rifles remains committed to maintaining ethos of the force.

@HMOIndia @AmitShah @PIBHomeAffairs @Spearcorps @easterncomd @adgpi @ANI @RajBhavManipur @IndianSinghh @NELiveTV @PTI_News

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

#Manipur is trying to rebuild. It holds the Shirui Lily Festival. But an Army unit stops a state transport bus carrying a media team - for having 'Manipur State Transport' written on it. The bus can’t move unless the name Manipur is hidden. And this happened yesterday. Just imagine.

Why must Manipur erase itself in its own land?

Who ordered this? (Or is the Army now above the Indian Constitution?) Article 246 (7th Schedule) gives states full control over transport. So why is the Army rewriting the law? If this happened in Maharashtra or Delhi, would it be tolerated?

If 'Manipur' is seen as a threat - what does that say about India’s idea of Manipur?

Is this humiliation of Manipur’s identity deliberate?
Will there be accountability or just silence?

[NumitLei @numitlei737]

@advsanjoy He should be airdropped into Pakistan, mission accomplished, revenge complete

[Debanish Achom @debanishachom]

Two years of Manipur violence: Internally displaced people still living in relief camps, another monsoon approaching, no free movement, no economic activity.

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

May 3, 2023 - a date forever etched in the collective memory of every Manipuri. Two years on, the scars remain raw. The #Meitei community, along with other peace-seeking groups, want peace & the preservation of the state's integrity. But elements on the opposing side persist in their rigid and divisive demand for separaton - a goal that remains not only constitutionally untenable but deeply damaging to the hope of unity and lasting peace in #Manipur.

[Baneishsingha @baneishsingha]

What a joke!!!!
Still no clue of whereabouts of KamalBabu who was abducted from the largest military camp in #Manipur.
This is just one case where the Army failed, and there are many such cases.
So stop glorifying the failure.
@FrontalForce

[NumitLei @numitlei737]

@jon_suante She died in Churachandpur. How you must miss blaminh Meiteis

[Meitei Heritage Society @meiteiheritage]

An extremely disturbing video has surfaced on social media where a Mizo Christian radical TV Awmtea is seen inciting Chin Kukis in Churachandpur on March 7, 2025 to wage war against Meiteis and India.

@kuldiep86 @BhallaAjay26 @AmitShah Trust you will take exemplary action. Key points below:

1. Chin Kuki Militants should never surrender to the Indian government.

2. Don't submit your weapons, don't surrender anything.

3. Central government is trying to snatch our land and resources.

4. Before Manipur violence started, he had claimed. First, Burma will burn. Then Bangladesh. Then Manipur, and Mizoram will be the last to burn.'

5. Don't live in fear because President's Rule has been imposed.
Be brave - Don't surrender your weapons.

[Indira Laisram @indira_laisram]

This well-argued, point-by-point rebuttal dismantles Greeshma Kuthar’s article, ‘Manipur’s ‘Free Movement’ is a Dangerous Political Charade’ (Frontline). Must-read for anyone seeking a fact-based counter to her narrative or the #Manipur crisis.

As always, Greeshma’s piece leaves no doubt about her alignment with the #Kuki position - uncritically endorsing their uncompromising push for a separate administration or Union Territory.

The entire Frontline piece reads as an elegy for the March 8 incident, where Kuki protesters suffered casualties after violently resisting the free movement order. She deliberately leaves out the part about what provoked the clash.

In contrast, The Manipur Brief @themanipurbrief with clarity and facts exposes the flaws in her argument. Do read 👇👇

@frontline_india @jeegujja #Manipur