After "900 Militants From Myanmar" Report, Kuki Groups In Manipur Call Shutdown

The Kuki-Zo tribes in Manipur have asked their community to be vigilant between September 26 and 29, days after the Manipur Security Adviser confirmed in a press conference that some "900 Kuki militants" trained in jungle warfare and use of weaponised drones have entered the violence-hit state from neighbouring Myanmar.

The Kuki Inpi Manipur in a statement refuted the allegations of infiltration from Myanmar, and alleged the intelligence report confirmed by the Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh was baseless and part of a larger narrative, possibly intended to justify aggression against the Kuki-Zo tribes.

"All Kuki-Zo people are urged to refrain from organising or attending public events until September 28, 2024, to prevent any possible escalation of violence," the Kuki Inpi Manipur said, apart from calling a complete shutdown in areas in Manipur where the Kuki tribes are dominant.

The Kuki Inpi Manipur said it plans to hold a press conference on September 28 to reveal what it claims are the "ulterior motives of the state government and certain radical Meitei groups".

Manipur Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh

Meitei civil society groups, responding to what they called "fear mongering" by Kuki groups, alleged the foreign militants who the intelligence report had flagged could attack Meitei villages in the foothills.

"When the security forces retaliate, it will give the Kuki militants and their frontal groups an opportunity to claim Kukis have been attacked by Meiteis... The Manipur Security Adviser clearly said his statement is based on an intelligence report. He has no obligation to anyone to explain confidential details about an intelligence report," the civil society organisation Meitei Heritage Society (MHS) said in a statement.

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Many distinct tribes such as Thadou and Hmar come under Manipur's Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, one of which also includes a catch-all nomenclature called 'Any Kuki Tribes', re-added in 2003 after its deletion in 1956.

The Meitei Heritage Society said organisations that represent the Kuki-Zo tribes in Manipur's Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts use the term "tribal" despite numerous other tribes not being part of these organisations or involved in the ethnic violence.

"It must be noted that the Nagas and other tribes are not part of these groups and have publicly rebuked them for deliberately using the word 'tribal' to mislead people into assuming it means 'all tribals' in Manipur," the Meitei Heritage Society said.

A view of Imphal valley

On September 20, sources had said the intelligence report was sent to all Senior Superintendents of Police in the districts along the India-Myanmar border in southern Manipur. The report mentioned that "900 Kuki militants, newly trained in use of drone-based bombs, projectles, missiles and jungle warfare have entered Manipur from Myanmar", sources had said.

Responding to a question on the intelligence report, the Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh had said, "Unless and until it is proved wrong, we believe that it is 100 per cent correct. Because any intelligence input you have to take 100 per cent correct and prepare for that. If it doesn't come true, then there are two things. Either it didn't happen at all, or because of your efforts it didn't happen. You cannot take it lightly."

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Ethnic armed groups in Myanmar's Chin State and other areas have been fighting the junta, and have taken large parts of the country which the junta earlier controlled. Some of the fighting has taken place close to the border with India, with instances of some junta troops fleeing into India after Chin State rebels overran them.

The Manipur government has long maintained that the ethnic violence in the state was a direct result of a huge spike in the population of illegal immigrants - among other factors - in southern Manipur, which shares a border with Chin State and the Sagaing Region.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.