MHA virtually rejects demand for Union Territories for Kuki-Zo tribals in Manipur

Imphal: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has virtually rejected the demand of Kuki-Zo tribal organisations and militant groups for the creation of Union Territories with Legislature for the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur, tribal outfits said on Saturday.

The MHA and representatives of Kuki-Zo armed groups under Suspension of Operation (SoO) — the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF) — held two-day talks on November 6-7 in New Delhi, focusing on the core demand for a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly.

The KNO and UPF, in a joint statement, said that during the meeting, A.K. Mishra, Adviser, North-East, MHA, reiterated that while the Government of India is sensitive to the plight of the Kuki-Zo people, the current policy does not support the creation of new Union Territories. He also stressed the need for consultations with other communities in Manipur.

The KNO/UPF delegation urged the Centre to reconsider its position in view of the fact that the Constitution is above government policy.

The delegation also pointed out that the ground zero situation in the state made coexistence impossible between the two communities (Meitei and Kuki-Zo), requiring the need to invoke necessary provisions of the Constitution to secure Kuki Zo lives and property.

According to the statement, the two-day talks also covered a wide range of issues concerning the tribal people. Discussions centred on the implementation of the September 4 (2025) tripartite agreement between the MHA, the government of Manipur, and the SoO group.

The SoO group expressed the need for addressing administration and governance in Kuki-Zo inhabited districts under the current circumstances.

As per the September 4 tripartite meeting, movement of vehicles and people along the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2), one of the lifelines of Manipur, would start, the KNO and UPF had also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict, reduce the number of designated camps, relocate the weapons to the nearest CRPF and BSF camps, ensure stringent physical verification of cadres by security forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any.

A Joint Monitoring Group would closely monitor enforcement of ground rules, and violations will be dealt with firmly in future, including review of the SoO Agreement, an official statement had said after the September 4 meeting.

The UPF and the KNO, which are a conglomerate of 23 underground outfits, signed the SoO with the government on August 22, 2008. Around 2,266 cadres of the militant outfits have been staying in different designated camps in Manipur’s hill regions.

Over 260 people were killed, 1,500 were injured, and over 70,000 were displaced after the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities on May 3, 2023, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, four days after N. Biren Singh quit as Chief Minister on February 9. The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.

IANS