'Some Consistently Seeking New Justifications To Sustain Unrest In Manipur': Meitei Body

The umbrella body of civil society organisations of the Meitei community in Manipur has alleged statements issued by its Kuki counterparts in recent times show they want "to create circumstances that validate their long-standing demand for a separate administration."

The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in a statement said even when the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh stepped down "for the larger good", Kuki civil society groups have "found another pretext to continue their movement for a separate administration."

COCOMI's statement comes amid the spectre of President's Rule looming large over the violence-hit state after the chief minister resigned on Sunday, a day before a no-confidence motion to be introduced by the Congress in the budget session of the assembly, which was cancelled by the Governor.

The Meitei civil society organisation alleged their Kuki counterparts have "consistently sought new justifications to sustain unrest, making their own people suffer while capitalising on their discontent to push their vested political agenda."

"COCOMI urges the government of India to recognise this systematic agenda and take firm measures to hold accountable any individual, organisation, or group that justifies instability and violence as a means to pursue their political ambitions. The people of Manipur deserve peace, stability, and a resolution that upholds the integrity of the state," it said.

The valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

Churachandpur-based Kuki organisation Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and the Kangpokpi-based Kuki group Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) are in the forefront of the call for a separate administration carved out from Manipur, so are the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs in the 60-member Manipur assembly and nearly a dozen Kuki-Zo militant groups that have signed a ceasefire (Suspension of Operations, or SoO Agreement).

The Kuki tribes and the opposition Congress party in Manipur have said the chief minister's resignation is "too little, too late". They have not given any indication of agreeing for talks unless they get separate administration, and an investigation is ordered into the alleged role of the chief minister in instigating the violence.

While Kuki leaders and militants under the SoO agreement have pointed at the ethnic clashes that began in May 2023 as the reason why they escalated their demand from an autonomous council to a separate administration, or a Union Territory with an assembly, Meitei leaders have cited numerous protests in the past by the Kuki tribes seeking separation, or "Kukiland", a land of their own.

The World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) in a memorandum to the Manipur Governor on January 15 said the Kuki tribes have been demanding a state "since 1946-47."

"We have been demanding Constitutional Kukiland state under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, since 1946-47 to the first Prime Minister of India PM Jawaharlal Nehru in the name of Kuki National Assembly (KNA), resurged by Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) and KNO-UPF who were under SoO with GoI [government of India] since 2008, to safeguard and in recognition of our community's rights, including our right to self-determination, cultural identity, and linguistic heritage," the WKZIC said in the memorandum, which also detailed hardships of the Kuki tribes since India's Independence.

Over 250 people have been killed and 50,000 have been internally displaced in the Manipur clashes that began nearly two years ago.