At a time when ethnic violence, mistrust and geographical separation continue to affect relations among communities in Manipur, students of Needy Home Academy (NHA) and Sorshia Christian College (SCC) have called for peaceful coexistence through “A Hymn for Peace,” successfully organised by the two institutions at Tangkhul Baptist Church, Imphal, on Wednesday, 4 November 2026.

The programme brought together choral music, student presentations, testimony, drama and messages of peace, drawing attention to a remarkable experience at Mapao Zingtun in Kangpokpi district, where students belonging to Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities continue to share educational life despite the tensions surrounding them.

The programme’s appeal was especially significant against the backdrop of the unresolved Meitei–Kuki conflict and renewed Naga–Kuki tensions. While divisions have affected communities across the state, the organising institutions sought to communicate a different message: peaceful coexistence remains possible, and Manipur’s younger generation deserves a future free from inherited hatred and fear.

In a press release issued by Dr. Atom Sunil Singh, Director, Sorshia Christian College, the organising institutions highlighted the continuing coexistence of students from different communities at Mapao Zingtun and the importance of protecting such shared educational spaces.

According to the institutions, Meitei, Kuki and Naga students continue to study and live within the educational community associated with Needy Home Academy and Sorshia Christian College. This experience has already attracted national and regional attention. In January 2025, The Times of India reported that Meitei and Kuki children continued to live, play and sing together at Needy Home Academy despite the surrounding conflict.

In December 2025, the two institutions, together with the Mapao Zingtun Village Authority, organised a “Unity in Diversity” programme in which Meitei, Kuki, Naga and Pangal students shared a public cultural platform, presenting songs, dances and traditional attire. These experiences provide an important foundation for the message carried through “A Hymn for Peace”: students from different communities can preserve their distinct identities while continuing to build relationships based on understanding, friendship and mutual respect.

The programme also featured a Message of Peace by Rev. R. Ayui, identified in the programme as a 107-year-old evangelist, and an exhortation by Dr. R. Chance, Chairman of Needy Home Academy. The message emerging from “A Hymn for Peace” was particularly relevant to Manipur’s younger generation, whose education, friendships and future opportunities have been affected by the continuing crisis. The central appeal of “A Hymn for Peace” was for a future in which Meitei, Kuki, Naga and all other communities can live, learn and work together without fear.