Deconstructed: Kaybie Chongloi’s Report In ‘India Today NE’ — Kuki-Zo Community Sets 3 Preconditions For Ceasefire At Kangpokpi Consultation Meet

Kaybie Chongloi, a Kuki freelancer from Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, has been running a full-blown propaganda campaign against the Meiteis since May 2023.

Kaybie Chongloi transmits messages from shady Kuki groups verbatim.

Most of his stories appear in India Today NE, a vertical of the India Today Group that focuses on news from the northeast region. Chongloi’s name is also seen in many stories on the news website East Mojo, owned by former television journalist Karma Paljor.

It would be of relevance to mention here that Chongloi had to retract his stories five times — please correct us if we are wrong about the number of times it happened — in the last one year because they were proven to be outright disinformation, open and shut cases.

He has not written a single story on Kuki militants and fake ‘volunteers’ who are hardcore militants, even one that remotely suggests the faintest whiff of balance or neutrality. Not. A. Single. Story.

Using free analytics tools on the internet, we found India Today NE does not have a large readership base outside of the northeast when compared to other news websites of similar size. Even within the northeast region, India Today NE appears to get engagements only from states where a major topic is trending.

But why are we saying this?

Photo by Albert Moirangthem on Unsplash

Chongloi is aware that he can push propaganda in India Today NE and East Mojo and get away with it because he knows low visibility means no one will notice or take his work seriously enough to make him accountable.

He is so sure about not getting caught that almost all his stories do not have opposing views or reactions or counter-points. Chongloi transmits messages from shady Kuki groups verbatim. You don’t have to trust us on this. Look up his name and see for yourself.

It may be difficult for journalists to work in Manipur due to the sharp divide into ethnic camps. But that is no excuse for journalists to stop giving the least minimum effort to bring the views of both sides in as many stories as possible. Chongloi failed miserably here.

He is not active on social media because he knows it will be his end if people start questioning him directly.

Chongloi is a resident of Kangpokpi, where the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) works as the civilian face of the militant organisation Kuki National Front (KNF-P). His stories are almost always based on whatever CoTU vomits.

What is CoTU?

CoTU is a Kuki-only group, specifically run by illegal immigrants who joined the Any Kuki Tribes category to escape from the law. The “tribal unity” part in CoTU has got nothing to do with “tribal unity”. It’s a Kuki troublemaker gang without any other tribe such as Naga as members. The Any Kuki Tribes hide under the label “tribal” to make it seem like all the tribes in Manipur are with them.

Before revealing more dirt that Chongloi has been hiding, let’s see the latest propaganda he submitted to the busy people in India Today NE who must have been letting his stuff pass without applying basic, minimum filters required to qualify as journalism in a national media brand.

Kuki militants disguised as so-called ‘volunteers’ carrying military grade firearms read out a demand to the Manipur Governor after the deadline to hand over weapons ends. This video was reportedly taken in Moreh, along the border with Myanmar.

The original text of Chongloi’s story is in regular font. Our edits and comments are in bold.

Manipur: Kuki-Zo community sets 3 preconditions for ceasefire at Kangpokpi consultation meet

The headline is misinformation. There is no community called ‘Kuki-Zo’ in Manipur or anywhere else. The common people among the Kuki, Zomi, and Hmar have not set preconditions for talks in Manipur. It is only a few self-proclaimed groups that have announced the preconditions for talks. The correct way to say it would be ‘Kuki groups threaten Manipur peace talks with 3 preconditions’. Chongloi deliberately called it “community”.

In a move ahead of the scheduled peace talks on April 5, the Kuki-Zo leadership in Sadar Hills, Kangpokpi District, has unanimously laid down three non-negotiable preconditions for any cessation of hostilities.

There is no hostility from Meiteis. The Union Home Ministry’s free-movement order to ensure normalcy by allowing civilians and families to travel without worry was sabotaged by Any Kuki Tribes and their militants in Kangpokpi, the same district where Chongloi lives. The only hostile parties here are the Any Kuki Tribes and some opportunistic Zomis.

The announcement was made today during a high-level consultation meeting at the KBC Centre Church Hall, Kangpokpi, convened by the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), Sadar Hills Kangpokpi District.

CoTU is the civilian face of the heavily armed militant group Kuki National Front (KNF). This meeting has no credibility. No militant can dictate to India how to hold peace talks.

A child soldier trained by Zomi militants

The consultation saw participation from prominent Kuki-Zo organizations, including the Kuki-Zo Council, Sadar Hills Chiefs’ Association, Kuki Inpi, student bodies, women’s organizations, and tribal representatives. Intellectuals, social activists, and key community figures were also present to deliberate on the path forward.

Again, there is no such thing as free lunch and “Kuki-Zo”. But let’s indulge in Chongloi’s propagandist choice of words for a moment and see the organisations he named in the right context, which he did not provide as usual.

He makes it sound like all the tribes of the world have landed at Kangpokpi for the meeting, when CoTU did not even invite Any Kuki Tribes and Zomis from Churachandpur because their allegiance is to the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), while CoTU is Kuki National Front’s civil servant.

What is the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC)? It is a recently formed monstrosity headed by selfish and corrupt little men who want to become full-time politicians. After the Churachandpur-based Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) lost steam and its spokesman Ginza Vualzong was beaten black and blue many times by Any Kuki Tribes on the payroll of CoTU, these selfish little men decided to form KZC to undo some of the damage done by the ITLF. KZC is nothing but ITLF after spending some time in a washing machine. Ginza Vualzong of the ITLF is also the spokesman of KZC.

What is the Kuki Inpi? It is a ‘formal’ body of selfish little Any Kuki Tribes men, most of whom came from Myanmar after 1970. Manipur’s distinct tribes like the Thadou have their own organisations, while the Kuki Inpi is exclusively run by the Any Kuki Tribes. So, at its core, Kuki Inpi represents no distinct tribe. It is an empty shell filled by Any Kuki Tribes to appear legitimate.

A Kuki militant joins the mob during rioting in Manipur’s Churachandpur on May 3, 2023.

The three preconditions for cessation of hostilities: No Cross-Movement: The movement of Meitei individuals in Kuki-Zo-dominated areas and vice versa shall be strictly restricted. Structured Dialogue: A formal and meaningful dialogue process must be initiated during the ceasefire period. Six-Month Ceasefire: Hostilities shall be halted for a minimum period of six months to facilitate negotiations.

Chongloi once again did not explain the context because doing it would expose the organisation for whom he runs propaganda. We will do it for him.

No cross-movement: stopping people from going anywhere in the county freely and safely violates the Constitution; Kuki militants and their civilian faces know that allowing families and businesses disrupted by the ethnic violence in demand of a Kukiland will bring normalcy and peace, which means there will be no excuse left to demand the breakup of Manipur.

Structured dialogue: Meiteis have been calling for talks without preconditions. Enough said.

Six-month ceasefire: As mentioned earlier above, Meiteis have handed over firearms as per the Governor’s order, and put their trust on the security forces to protect them. But Kuki militants who pretend to be volunteers on camera have released videos holding weapons and threatening civilians even after the deadline given by the Governor to surrender weapons lapsed. Using fancy words like “six-month ceasefire” is an attempt to keep Kuki militants hidden from public view by implying that Meiteis are still fighting them. It is the Kukis themselves who are armed and ready to kill. They stopped free movement by threatening to shoot and kill Meiteis who use the highways.

The declaration comes as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) prepares for talks between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities in New Delhi on April 5. With tensions still high, the Kuki-Zo leadership has taken a firm stand, stating that a ceasefire will only be possible if these conditions are met.

Chongloi’s “with tensions still high” opinion is a self-reflection. There is no tension from Meiteis’ side. They have been waiting for talks for a long time. But tension must be high among Kuki Inpi, KZC, Zomi Council, ITLF, ZRA, KNF, Any Kuki Tribes, Paites, Hmar, etc because they have come together in an opportunistic, selfish, synthetic and unsustainable alliance with only one agenda, Meitei hate. Whoever tries to find peace becomes their enemy.

With this, we end the deconstruction of Chongloi’s latest propaganda. It is your turn to see for yourself what he has been doing. Clicking on any story under his name on the India Today NE website takes to a page that has been removed.

His stories on East Mojo show his true colours in their full spectrum. East Mojo has openly sided with Kukis and makes no fuss about it. That’s being honest.

We also want to ask the people at India Today NE, what have you been doing? Will you take a long, hard look at the Any Kuki Tribes spokesman from Kangpokpi now?

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