Zomi Villa: Hindutva’s Encroachment and the Silence of the Indian State

Two years after the violent displacement of the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur, the situation in Zomi Villa (formerly a peaceful locality) has deteriorated into a textbook case of ethnic cleansing through state apathy and ideological aggression. What was once a vibrant residential area inhabited by the Kuki-Zo community is now a stronghold of the Arambai Tenggol- a radical Meitei Hindu militia allegedly operating with impunity and informal state sanction.

Reports emerging from the ground paint a grim picture. More than 70 homes and shops previously owned by members of the Kuki community have been forcefully occupied. Over 300 armed members of Arambai Tenggol are said to be stationed in the area, maintaining an environment of surveillance, intimidation, and economic exploitation. Former residents- now displaced- are not only denied return but are allegedly threatened should they attempt to reclaim their properties. Rent is being extracted from the illegally occupied homes, and signs have been marked on the walls to signify control, evoking chilling parallels with other episodes of majoritarian repression in global history.

The Indian government’s silence, combined with the visible inaction of the local police, suggests not just negligence but potential complicity. This failure is further magnified by the fact that the Supreme Court of India, in a previous directive, ordered the safeguarding of properties abandoned due to communal violence. Yet in Zomi Villa, that ruling remains unimplemented, and the judiciary’s word is overshadowed by ground-level lawlessness.

The role of the Arambai Tenggol in this crisis cannot be understated. Originally formed under the guise of preserving Meitei identity and culture, the group has evolved into an armed radical organization, allegedly backed by certain political actors aligned with Hindutva ideology. Their activities go unchecked, mirroring the rise of similar militant vigilante groups in other parts of India, emboldened under the Modi administration. Their ideological alignment with the broader Hindutva movement- espousing Hindu supremacy and targeting ethnic or religious minorities- renders their actions part of a nationwide pattern rather than a regional anomaly.

The violence in Manipur, particularly the systematic targeting of the Christian Kuki-Zo community, exposes the selective nature of the Indian state’s commitment to secularism and minority rights. Manipur’s ethnic landscape is diverse, but the governance narrative has been skewed to privilege the dominant Meitei Hindu interests. What makes Zomi Villa particularly disturbing is the transformation of violence into long-term dispossession—a process where displacement is not merely a byproduct of conflict but a goal.

This situation reflects a deeper ideological project at play. The Hindutva movement, once fringe, now finds institutional legitimacy. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), state institutions have increasingly failed to protect minorities—from Muslims in Uttar Pradesh to Christians in Chhattisgarh, and now, tribal Christians in Manipur. Zomi Villa stands as a living monument to this degeneration.

India’s global image as the “world’s largest democracy” is contradicted by such episodes of ethno-religious displacement. The forced demographic reengineering of regions like Zomi Villa undermines the very constitutional principles India claims to uphold. Despite multiple appeals by civil society organizations, human rights groups, and even international observers, the Indian central government has not taken any meaningful steps to intervene or even publicly condemn the Hindutva aggression in Manipur.

The question arises: why has the Indian state failed so comprehensively in this instance? One answer lies in political calculus. Manipur has become a frontier for testing how far majoritarian politics can be extended into regions that were historically resistant to Hindutva ideology. By supporting or tolerating groups like Arambai Tenggol, the state quietly facilitates a settler-colonial model under the guise of “restoring law and order.”

Additionally, the mainstream media in India has played a complicit role by underreporting or misrepresenting the crisis. This silence further marginalizes the Kuki-Zo community, both within and outside the state, leaving them with little national sympathy or institutional support. The absence of outrage at a national level is not accidental—it is an outcome of a larger discourse that delegitimizes minority grievances.

The situation in Zomi Villa must be seen for what it is: an orchestrated attempt to erase an ethnic-religious community from their land. It is not just about land disputes or inter-community tensions. It is about who gets to belong, who is seen as a threat to the ‘Hindu nation’, and who has the backing of the state when rule of law breaks down. The criminal silence of the Indian government is not neutrality- it is endorsement.

If India is to retain any semblance of its democratic and pluralistic identity, urgent intervention is required. This includes prosecuting members of extremist groups involved in property seizures, ensuring the return of displaced communities, and holding local police and administrative authorities accountable for dereliction of duty. More broadly, there needs to be a reckoning with the systemic rise of Hindutva militancy and its corrosive impact on India’s social fabric. Until then, Zomi Villa will remain a haunting symbol of how state-enabled extremism can uproot communities and rewrite the map- not just of geography, but of justice.