An interview featuring media professional Tony Singsit aired on Aizawl-based cable channel Zonet has triggered sharp reactions from both Tangkhul and Kuki organisations, further intensifying the already fragile tensions between the two communities.
The interview, uploaded on YouTube during Singsit’s visit to Mizoram, has crossed 22,000 views.
Framed as a discussion explaining the recent Kuki–Tangkhul conflict “from a Kuki perspective,” the conversation traced the origins of the tensions from a local dispute in Ukhrul district to the broader instability gripping parts of Manipur.
During the interview, Singsit referred to a February incident in Litan Sareikhong village involving a drunken altercation between a Tangkhul man and Kuki youths.
He claimed the situation escalated despite attempts at legal settlement and alleged that armed interference during a police station meeting further heightened tensions, eventually leading to retaliatory house burnings and a breakdown in relations between Tangkhul and Kuki groups.
The interview also discussed the recent killing of three Kuki pastors near Kangpokpi, which Singsit linked to militant factions rather than communal hatred. Rejecting narratives blaming the Kuki community, he argued that misinformation and speculation had worsened the situation.
Singsit further claimed that one obstacle to peace was the absence of clear demands or objectives from the Tangkhul side, suggesting that internal divisions and fragmentation among militant factions may be contributing to the instability.
The remarks, however, drew a strong backlash from the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), which accused Singsit of spreading what it described as a “bogus and malicious narrative.”
In a sharply worded statement issued through its Media Cell, the TNL Working Committee expressed “utter exasperation” over the interview, alleging that Singsit’s remarks were factually inaccurate, provocative and damaging at a time of fragile communal tensions.
According to TNL, the interview falsely blamed the Tangkhul Naga community for orchestrating tensions following the killing of the three Thadou Christian leaders.
The organisation alleged that the interview contained multiple inaccuracies, including incorrect information regarding survivors and hostage exchanges.
The committee stated that official records showed five people were injured in the ambush, while 16 Kuki hostages and 14 Naga hostages had been released — figures it said contradicted those mentioned during the interview.
“Claiming to speak from authority, he could not even get the basic facts right,” the statement said, accusing Singsit of presenting a “completely fabricated order of events” detached from realities on the ground.
The TNL also criticised attempts by sections of Kuki organisations to prematurely blame the Tangkhul community while investigations into the ambush remain ongoing.
It defended the Tangkhul community’s role during the 2023 Meitei-Kuki violence, stating that Tangkhul villages had sheltered displaced Kukis and helped evacuate students during the crisis.
The organisation further reiterated longstanding concerns regarding land ownership and the presence of Kuki Suspension of Operations (SoO) camps near Ukhrul district, alleging that some camps had contributed to insecurity in Naga areas.
Meanwhile, the Kuki Students’ Organisation General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ) strongly defended both Singsit and the interview.
In a statement issued on Monday, the KSO-GHQ asserted that Singsit’s remarks were factual, evidence-based and drawn from information already available in the public domain.
According to the organisation, several points raised during the interview reflected assertions previously made publicly by the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) regarding the pastor ambush.
The student body maintained that Singsit was carrying out his professional duty as a journalist by discussing publicly available information without malicious intent.
KSO-GHQ also condemned what it described as personal attacks aimed at discrediting Singsit, calling the criticism “baseless, unjustified and misleading.”
According to the organisation, instead of addressing the substantive concerns raised during the interview, the TNL had focused on minor factual discrepancies in an attempt to undermine Singsit’s credibility while avoiding the broader issues discussed in the conversation.
Also Read: An impossible fight: Why peace in Manipur keeps losing ground
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