Thousands of individuals from various communities, including non-Kuki tribes, congregated in the capital city of Imphal in Manipur today to participate in a large-scale rally advocating for the territorial and administrative integrity of the state. The event, organized by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a coalition of civil society organizations, spanned nearly 5 kilometers in the central area of the state capital.
Individuals from diverse backgrounds, communities, and age groups, including elderly women affiliated with the Meira Paibi institution, marched through the streets chanting slogans centered on unity and the preservation of indigenous populations. Participants carried posters and banners displaying their demands to the government, such as “protect the indigenous and rightful citizens of India,” “oppose separate governance,” and “safeguard the territorial integrity of Manipur.”
With the exception of certain factions of the Kuki tribes advocating for a distinct territory bordering Myanmar and Mizoram, the people of Manipur, representing all communities, presented six key points to the central government during the demonstration. These points include conducting the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, revoking all agreements made with Kuki insurgent groups, implementing search operations equitably in both the valley and hill regions, preserving the territorial and administrative integrity of Manipur, and eliminating designated buffer zones in districts that hinder residents from returning to their homes.
N Shanti Devi, 52, expressed her desire for the barb wires and barricades to remain in place, preventing any Meitei from returning home to the hills. She believes that if all displaced people go back home, the Kukis will lose their reason to fight, leading to peace. Keisham Khambi, another woman, stated that those advocating for a separate land will not stop at that. She accused the Kuki insurgents and their fronts of plotting for a long time, using the rally on May 3, 2023, as a pretext to initiate violence.
Ms Khambi questioned why the Kukis didn’t fight the Meiteis’ desire to be recognized as Scheduled Tribes in court instead of burning their homes. She believed that the Kukis saw an opportunity in the chaos to push their demands, but now their actions have been exposed to everyone. The Meitei community, dominant in the valley, and the Kuki tribes, dominant in the hills, have been engaged in a year-long conflict.
The Meiteis, who belong to the general category, aspire to be included in the Scheduled Tribes category, claiming their essential and historical tribal identity. On the other hand, the Kuki tribes have been striving for a separate administration called “Kukiland” within Manipur. They have been pursuing this demand for decades, citing the need for a homeland for the scattered tribes who share ethnic connections with tribes in neighboring Mizoram and Myanmar’s Chin State.
Various Kuki organizations like the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) in Churachandpur and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) in Kangpokpi, along with their 10 MLAs, have expressed support for the establishment of a separate administration in Manipur. This demand is also endorsed by around 25 Kuki-Zo insurgent groups who have signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement. This unified demand has aligned the Kuki insurgent groups, the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, and the civil society organizations.
In essence, the SoO agreement stipulates that Kuki insurgents must reside in designated camps and store their weapons securely, subject to regular monitoring. A joint monitoring committee conducts an annual review of the SoO agreement to determine whether it should be terminated or renewed. The deadline for this year’s review was February 29. On the day when the first parliamentary session of Modi 3.0 commenced, Kuki groups organized a rally on Monday to advocate for their separate administration request.