NSCN (IM) Claims Only Meiteis and Nagas Indigenous to Manipur, Kukis Not

Dimapur, April 9, 2020:

Continuing to lash out at the Kuki community in the aftermath of the Chassad incident, the Isaak-Muivah faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) has claimed that Manipur has only two indigenous people and they are the Meiteis and Nagas.

In a statement issued by the rebel outfit, it has been claimed that the Nagas have been recorded to be living in their land since time immemorial. "The Kukis have come to settle in Manipur just recently and they have come in different waves. All these historical facts has been recorded by various scholars and imminent writers, both Indian and foreigners.

The Kukis living in the so called Chassad village have been recorded to be living only from the 1940s onwards"", the NSCN said.

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The NSCN further claims that the Kukis have been living in and around Chassad with the permission of the Sampui village Headman against yearly payment of House Tax. "The Kukis has been allowed to live in the area until such time when they started claiming land ownership or as land owners", claimed the NSCN in its communique.

Significantly, a Joint Consultation Meeting of the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) and the Eastern Kuki Chiefs Association (EKCA), was held on the 20th July, 2019 at TNL office, Ukhrul, whereby it was jointly signed by the TNL and EKCA that Chassad Kukis are not indigenous people and have no ancestral land in the Kamjong area, the NSCN further said.

The recent incident of Chassad village being burned down on 16th March, 2020, was the result of provocation and the road block between Kamjong and Ukhrul, the burning down of a newly constructed petrol pump and one Shaktiman truck belonging to the Tangkhuls by the Kukis.

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The NSCN has also chided the Manipur Government for siding with the Kukis. "Ironically, ignoring all these facts and historical evidences, the Kukis in connivance with the

Manipur Government under Shri Biren Singh are taking undue advantage of Tangkhuls’ humility and honesty. As such, the Nagas have taken strong exception to this effect", the statement said.

In its release, the NSCN says that in the British-Indian period, the Kukis were used as “Buffers” to counter the militant Nagas. "But such an antiquated manner to counter-weight the Nagas cannot be repeated now or ever", the NSCN said.

"All said and done, the historical facts and other evidences that led to the flare up of the Chassad village issue and the prejudiced stand taken by the Manipur Government has to be handled in the manner as called for", said the rebel body.

The NSCN (IM) is of the opinion that Kukis have encroached upon Naga areas and much of the land inhabited by the Kukis are claimed as a part of the “Greater Nagalim.” The Naga insurgents consider the continued residence of Kukis in these areas as the prime obstacle to realizing their concept of Nagalim.

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