Manipur's Kuki-Zo bodies protest in Delhi seeking separate administration

A mass demonstration was held by Kuki-Zo bodies at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on August 31, seeking a separate administration.

The protest call has been given by the Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of Kuki tribes in Manipur and the Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) Delhi NCR chapter, which held a press conference here on Thursday (August 29, 2024) over the issue. 

Various Kuki organizations intensified their demand for a separate Kuki homeland, staging rallies across hill districts of Manipur on August 31. The demonstrations, held in districts including Jiribam, Tamenglong, and Churachandpur, saw significant participation as protesters voiced their dissatisfaction with the Biren Singh government.

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With placards in hands and slogans ringing, protesters claimed a separate administration as the only valid solution to the current unrest in Manipur. One of the main posters that appeared during the rally read: "For peace in Manipur, Mother India has to deliver a new baby statehood called Kukiland."

Mass participation was noted in the rallies, particularly along National Highway 37 from Lhangnom to Tatbung, and in Tuibong, Churachandpur, where the demand for "Kukiland" reached very powerfully to the gathering.

The Manipur rallies marked a precursor to a larger protest scheduled for August 31, 2024, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The call for a creation of a Union Territory with Legislature for the Kukizos has also been echoed by different Kuki bodies, including Kuki Inpi and Kuki Students' Organisation. The rally scheduled between 1:30 PM and 5:00 PM, is being held to protest what the organizers described as "institutionalised genocide" by the N. Biren Singh-led BJP against the Kuki-Zo people.