Amid Kuki-Naga clash, 51 student 'rescued' from Manipur’s Ukhrul to JNV Kangpokpi

GUWAHATI: Security forces evacuated 51 Kuki students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Ramva in Manipur’s Ukhrul district to JNV Kangpokpi on Sunday night amid safety concerns following a recent flare-up of Kuki-Naga tensions in the district.

Manipur Police said on Monday that Ukhrul District Police moved the students and handed them over to the Saikul Police Station team for onward travel to Kangpokpi. The group included 20 girls and 31 boys, who had been staying under Assam Rifles protection for the past few days after being shifted out of the residential school where Naga students are in an overwhelming majority.


“The Class X and XII examination centres of 18 students have been transferred to JNV Kangpokpi due to the prevailing law and order situation in the district. Along with them, the remaining students from the Kuki community of JNV Ramva were also evacuated as a precautionary measure,” Manipur Police said on X.

Police said some members of the public mistook the evacuation team for miscreants during the operation. “The support of TKS and its zonal units, particularly the president of Katho Katamnao Long, was crucial in de-escalating tensions. Their efforts in persuading villagers across the Shangshak, Ramva, Shokvao, TM Kasom, and S Laho areas ensured the safe evacuation of the students to Litan Police Station, despite heightened tensions in the area,” it added.

Authorities cited threat perception inputs from security forces as a factor behind the relocation. Officials said there are reportedly no Kuki students in JNV Ukhrul-II, and noted that Ukhrul is among the few districts in the country with two JNVs.

Aditya Prakash Singh, deputy commissioner at the Shillong regional office of the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, said 18 of the evacuated students are Class 10 and 12 board examinees scheduled to sit for CBSE examinations starting Tuesday, and that CBSE permitted them to take the exams from a different centre after the move. “To avoid any unwanted clash, the Kuki students were shifted out. Safety of the students is our topmost priority,” he said.

Singh said the convoy began its roughly 80-km journey around midnight and reached JNV Kangpokpi after about six hours, moving through hilly terrain and multiple checkpoints. “During their journey, they were halted at many check posts, many of which are handled by tribal people. Guarded by security forces, the students were safely brought in several vehicles,” Singh told TOI.

He said the NVS regional office had been alerted by the school principal about safety concerns for Kuki students at Ukhrul-I JNV in the predominantly Naga-inhabited district. Ukhrul-I JNV had about 10% Kuki students and a total strength of 540 before the relocation. “We received some inputs from security personnel also that it was not safe to bring the Kuki students onto the Ukhrul school campus. So, we shifted all the Kuki students to Kangpokpi JNV,” Singh added.