Why Saikul Kukis Are Great Warriors?

Saikul has turned out to be the graveyard of the Meiteis in the current Manipur conflict between the Kuki-Zo and the Meiteis. Geographically, Saikul is a smaller area compared to Lamka, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal and Chandel. However, they have ‘islands’ of hill ranges that are in close proximity with the Meiteis. When the conflict started on 3rd May 2023, villages under Saikul sub-division bore the brunt of the waves of Meitei attacks, and as the people were taken by surprise at the intensity of the attacks, many villages were lost to the marauding armed Meiteis and the Manipur Police combine.

However, as weeks passed by, the Kukis of Saikul quickly reorganised themselves, started manufacturing local Canons, and other country made guns. The herds of Meiteis were soon jolted at Khamenlok, and that in fact signalled a gradual shift in the course of the war. Angered by their heavy casualties in the area, the Meiteis kept attacking only to pack more bodies in their coffins.

There are several factors to explain the resilience and bravery of Saikul volunteers, though in some way the same can be said about all Kangpokpi district. For one, Saikul is a hilly area and though Saikul Hill Town per se is plain, most of the villages are in difficult terrains. The hills are not just their playground but also their hunting grounds. They are as swift as the Gazelle, and it is quite natural that the Tarzans of the hills will be a difficult lot for the Imphal valley breeds like the Meiteis to face.

Secondly, Saikul area resembles the cowboy towns of Texas or Mexico City. People’s lifestyle, in a way, still resembles that. They are sturdy, straight forward and raw, and a football tournament is often incomplete without a fist fight. Such are the people who fights with passion for the sake of their own kind. While they can be good friends during peace time, it is a pity for those who have them as their enemy. The Meiteis have now angered the wounded Tigers.

Thirdly, the people of Saikul have gone through tremendous hardships during the Kuki-Naga conflict in the 1990s. As a result, there is deeper sense of patriotism and an unequivocal love for the Kuki nation. The Kukis are also traditionally hunters. Therefore, when a crisis of this magnitude comes, there are already enough fighters trained with country-made canons and modern weapons ready to give their lives. When I first visited Saikul sometime in August 2023, the General Secretary of KSO, a Kom gentleman, with his team, took me around to see the volunteers in the frontlines and I could see ‘fire’ in their eyes.

Fourthly, though not for good reasons, Saikul area was also once a den of factional fights between various insurgent organisations which affected many of the youths. So, their battle hardiness has now come in handy. Saikul might be small but it will become the ‘Stalingrad’ of the Kuki-Zo like the way it was for the Russians when Germany invaded in 1939. For the Meiteis, it has become the haunting hills!

Saikul area has also shown that in warfare, no amount of sophistication in weaponry or technology can beat bravery especially among men who consider defending their ancestral land as a noble duty even if it entails sacrificing one’s life. They may lose a few lives, but always return one for two, three and more.  For such a kind, a nation becomes strong and they deserve the sweet songs of the lyricists and the eternal yores of the Bards. The earlier the Meiteis realise that Saikul people will fight to the finish, the sooner they will stop attacking.