A leading Kuki student organisation has condemned police charges in Manipur against a UK-based Indian professor for allegedly trying to incite the community in the border state.
The Delhi chapter of the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO) said in a statement today that the police action “indicates a disturbing trend where individuals and organisations who speak out against the Biren Singh-led Manipur government for its wrongdoings are being unfairly targeted”.
According to a first information report (FIR) filed by a resident of state capital Imphal, the accused, Uday Reddy, a professor of computer science at the University of Birmingham, was active online in stoking communal tensions in Manipur on religious grounds through online messages and talk sessions on social media platforms.
“Uday Reddy has always presented an unbiased view and true history of both the Kuki and Meitei communities of Manipur. His objective and fact-based talks seem to be threatening the Meitei propaganda, who cannot counter his truth with misinformation,” KSO said in a statement.
“The professor’s social media activity was not aimed at denigrating the Meitei people, but rather at shedding light on the complex truth surrounding the violent incidents in Manipur,” KSO said, referring to accusations that Reddy “maliciously and deliberately insulted the religious beliefs of the Meitei people and incited enmity between the Meitei and other communities on religious grounds.”
A notice on Reddy’s profile page on X (formerly Twitter) said his account had been “suspended in India pursuant to a legal request,” a move X’s policy states is typically taken pursuant to a court order.
KSO said the charges against Reddy were an attempt to silence him and further thwart his efforts to enlighten Kuku youth.
“…we urge the authorities to realise that this complaint is a tactic to intimidate and suppress a voice of truth. We demand immediate withdrawal of the complaint and seek an end to such unjust acts against individuals seeking to bring to light the historical and present-day realities of Manipur state,” the Kuki students’ organisation said.
The FIR petitioner asked Indian authorities to contact Reddy’s workplace and inform them about “any criminal offences he may have committed against India”, adding that a lookout circular (LOC) should be issued to monitor India’s entry and exit points. LOCs are used to prevent people with criminal records or those under investigation from leaving the country.
This is not the first time that X has blocked the account of an overseas professor, citing legal requirements in India. In August 2023, X blocked the account of Ashok Swain, an Indian professor living in Sweden who is a vocal critic of Indian government policies.
Since ethnic conflict erupted in May 2023 between the Meitei people, who are the majority in the valley region, and about 20 tribes known as the Kukis, a name given to them by the British during the colonial period, who are the majority in some hilly areas of Manipur state, a massive battle of narratives has been waged on social media.
More than 220 people were killed and around 50,000 were internally displaced.
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