Lasting settlement impossible without immediate peace: Manipur Deputy CM

‘Guns no answer to Manipur crisis’Morung Express News Dimapur | October 21Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho said that no lasting settlement can be reached in the state without first restoring peace. He said that deep-rooted disputes cannot be resolved through guns and armed confrontation.Dikho made the comment in an interview in Chümoukedima, where he attended the introductory session of the All Nagaland College Students’ Union’s Collegiate Meet 2026 at Patkai Christian College (Autonomous), on October 20. While stating it is a tight rope walk for a government in a conflict situation, especially one that is communal in nature, he said that a government cannot afford to appear like it is taking sides. According to him, it is difficult to step in and mediate while people are still shooting at each other.He said, “People should understand that without peace, no solution can be brought. When there is peace, we can discuss slowly, legally, lawfully, then things can settle. Otherwise, with arms, with fighting, with conflict, it is not possible.” He added it becomes difficult to decide right from wrong when communities clash, making an immediate halt to hostilities essential.When armed groups engage in shootouts, he added, security personnel must gauge ground conditions before intervening between opposing sides.Dikho traced the origins of the Manipur conflict to land dispute and the resultant counter claims. He said that one side claims ancestral, and thereby, customary ownership, while the other claims legal ownership or occupancy. He maintained that neither the government nor any single entity can arbitrarily declare overnight who owns which tract of land. While stating that it requires detailed legal examination and due process, he said that unchecked illegal immigration has been another major underlying factor exacerbating the crisis. He added that these matters demand systematic legal resolution.Responding to allegations about central security forces taking sides, he noted that both Naga and Meitei bodies have accused the Assam Rifles of showing leniency toward one group. While stating that he had not personally experienced this bias, he said the allegations require examination. If an agency backs a single community, he remarked, that would be wrong on the part of the AR. Dikho also reiterated his demand for the removal of fellow Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen. He stated that her husband heads the KNF-P, an armed “SoO group” accused of killing six Naga villagers. SoO groups, in the Manipur context, refer to armed Kuki political groups which have ceasefire deals jointly with the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) and Government of Manipur. He held that it is constitutionally wrong for Kipgen to hold the post of the Deputy CM under such circumstances. “It is not possible, and it is very, very wrong. This is our stand,” he said. According to him, all nine Naga legislators hold that she should step down on moral grounds, and that other Kuki-Zo leaders could assume the post.As far as reconciliation measures were concerned, Dikho said the state government, acting on advice from the Prime Minister, has initiated an all-community committee and approached church bodies to mediate between Kukis and Nagas– both predominantly Christian. He said that the Manipur government believes that church leaders coming together to lead reconciliation can produce meaningful results. He said that he met the Forum for Naga Reconciliation Convenor, Rev Dr Wati Aier and requested his involvement in supporting and guiding the reconciliation process. “I hope we will be able to bring some changes through community involvement and also by the church,” he said. Dikho added that he was traveling to Kohima for the Naga People’s Front Foundation Day, stating that his party will run a stronger campaign in the upcoming Manipur Assembly elections scheduled in the first quarter of 2027.