Licypriya Kangujam

Licypriya Kangujam (; born 2 October 2011) is an environmental activist from Manipur, India. She has appeared at United Nations climate conferences, including speaking at COP25 in Madrid and staging a protest during a high-level session at COP28 in Dubai. . Since 2023, through her social media accounts, she has endorsed the Meitei militia Arambai Tenggol implicated in Manipur ethnic conflict, and crowdfunded military equipment for the group.

Early life and activism Kangujam was born on 2 October 2011 in Bashikhong, Manipur, India, in a family of Meitei ethnicity. After attending a UN disaster conference in Mongolia with her father in 2018, she began public activism and founded an organisation called the "Child Movement" with assistance of her parents. .

In June 2019, she protested outside the Indian parliament calling for climate change legislation. She spoke at COP25 in Madrid in December 2019, with her attendance sponsored by the Government of Spain and the European Climate Foundation. She also campaigned to make climate change education mandatory in Indian schools, though critics disputed her claimed influence on Gujarat's curriculum changes, alleging that the government's acknowledgement was a routine response rather than evidence of direct impact.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kangujam launched a crowdfunding appeal on seeking to purchase 100 oxygen concentrators, which later drew scrutiny following the arrest of her father and legal guardian, Kangujam Karnajit. She received the T. N. Khoshoo Memorial Award in 2020 from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) for "having achieved monumental impact while campaigning for climate change at the young age of 9" but later erased from records. Her climate change campaigns on social media were also promoted on Twitter (now X) by the UK High Commission and the official account of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). After receiving a round of applause from the audience, she was subsequently removed by security from the conference and had accreditation removed. Kangujam expressed frustration at her removal from the conference.

Kangujam's climate activism story has been included in a Grade 5 English textbook under the CBSE syllabus. Her work has also been featured in educational materials for Grades 4 and 7 and referenced in courses offered by several universities under the framework of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. She attempted to enter the Guinness World Records by spelling the sentence "Save our Planet and our Future" using 6,056 plastic bottles.

Role in the Manipur ethnic conflict

Following the outbreak of the ethnic violence in Manipur in May 2023, which displaced over 60,000 people and killed more than 258, Kangujam posted on social media on 9 May alleging that she had received threats of sexual violence from individuals associated with the Kuki community, sharing a photograph of an individual she identified as a perpetrator. Licypriya's social media profile subsequently endorsed Arambai Tenggol on Facebook on the 16th, writing: "I support Arambai Tenggol. More power to you all." The group, a Meitei militia, was described by Amnesty International as a radical extremist group responsible for assaults, sexual violence, and murder against the Kuki-Zo community. Licypriya posted a photograph with members of the group, pledging support for the Meitei cause, and was photographed with its commander-in-chief, who was under investigation by the National Investigation Agency for allegedly looting arms from state armouries. and The Wesean Times & BOOM identified her as helping elevate the group's profile as it used social media to radicalise Meitei youth, including minors.

Crowdfunding military equipment In December 2023, shortly after her appearance at COP28, Licypriya used Facebook to crowdfund a thermal drone worth (approximately US$8,500), writing in Meiteilon that the drone was needed for "entering war" and that fighting without it "increases casualties". She posted personal digital payment details for donations.

In early 2024, she publicly donated military equipment, including thermal drones, to Arambai Tenggol. Her drone crowdfunding was cited in an academic study on the national security implications of the Manipur conflict published in the Journal of Asian and African Studies.

Child welfare concerns Keisam Pradipkumar, Chairperson of the Manipur Commission of Protection of Child Rights, stated in 2021 that if Licypriya was found to have been manipulated by her father, she would be classified as a child in need of care and protection. After speaking with the family, he said he found no evidence of manipulation, but noted that further investigation would fall outside his commission's mandate.