Shillong, Aug 26, 2025 — The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)’s Independent People’s Tribunal on Manipur, released on August 20, has drawn mixed reactions from civil society, media, and rights groups.
The Tribunal, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, is the most extensive civil society effort so far to document the ethnic conflict that began in May 2023. It highlights mass killings, sexual violence, desecration of churches, forced displacements, and the looting of 4,000–7,000 weapons from state armouries. The report accuses the Manipur government of enabling militias such as Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, while also criticising the silence of the Prime Minister, inaction of the NHRC, and lapses in the judiciary.
Local publications including The Frontier Manipur and Imphal Review of Arts & Politics criticised the report, arguing that it failed to present a “balanced” account by not giving equal space to Kuki-Zo militant activities.
In contrast, rights advocates and groups such as Global Citizens for Kuki-Zo defended the Tribunal’s approach, stating that its mandate was to assess state accountability and grave human rights violations, not to provide an ethnographic balance sheet. “Justice is not arithmetic,” the group said, warning that calls for symmetry risk denying the scale of atrocities documented.
The report has also been noted for its strong focus on sexual violence, which it describes as evidence of crimes against humanity. While some critics argued that the emphasis was “disproportionate,” women’s rights organisations welcomed the focus, insisting that such violations cannot be equated with other forms of loss.
The Tribunal further criticised sections of Manipur’s media for allegedly acting as “valley echo chambers,” suppressing minority voices and reinforcing majoritarian narratives.
As the debate continues, the PUCL report has reopened questions of accountability in Manipur’s conflict, with rights groups calling it a landmark step in documenting atrocities, and critics warning against what they see as partial representation.
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