Kuki-Zo community rallies in Manipur, renew demand for Union Territory with legislature

Thousands of people from the Kuki-Zo community on January 14, staged a large rally in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, demanding a political solution to long-standing issues faced by the tribal community, including the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature.

The demonstrators marched for over four kilometres through the district headquarters town, raising slogans and holding placards to press their demand. Leaders of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) later submitted a memorandum addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, outlining the community’s concerns and demands.

Similar rallies were also organised in Kuki-dominated areas of Moreh in Tengnoupal district, reflecting widespread mobilisation across the region.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups, the Kuki-Zo Council, and elected Kuki-Zo Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) on January 13 adopted a set of firm resolutions demanding an expedited constitutional settlement for the Kuki-Zo people.

The resolutions were unanimously passed during a joint meeting held in Guwahati on January 13, amid growing frustration over prolonged political uncertainty, continuing ethnic violence, and the absence of a durable administrative solution in Manipur.

During the meeting, participants reviewed the prevailing political and security situation and recalled a formal political demand submitted to the Centre in September 2023. They highlighted more than a year of ethnic violence and alleged targeted attacks against the community, while also expressing concern over what they described as the inaction and complicity of state agencies. The forum also noted what it termed an unprecedented de facto demographic and administrative separation that has persisted for nearly 32 months.

Against this backdrop, the joint forum urged the Central Government to urgently fast-track negotiations for the creation of a Union Territory with Legislature, along with strong constitutional safeguards to protect land ownership and indigenous rights. It asserted that any negotiated settlement must be finalised and formally signed before the expiry of the current Manipur Legislative Assembly’s normal tenure.

The resolutions also outlined preconditions for the restoration of an elected government in the state. The forum stated that any future government must provide a written and time-bound commitment supporting the proposed Union Territory and ensure completion of the settlement process within the present Assembly’s term.

Warning of political non-participation, the forum said that in the absence of concrete assurances from both the Centre and the State, it would refrain from participating in the formation of an elected government in Manipur. It further set a final deadline, declaring that a definitive political solution for the Kuki-Zo people must be achieved before the 2027 General Election, citing the scale of displacement, violence, and prolonged administrative paralysis.