After Kuki Inpi Manipur’s (KIM, the apex body of Kuki tribes) statement specifically seeking a separate State under Article 3 of the Constitution in light of the ongoing conflict in Manipur, signs of fissures are starting to appear among Kuki-Zo civil society organisations (CSOs) and councils about the specifics of how they want to be separated from the State of Manipur.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) in a meeting on Monday decided to specify that they too are seeking a separate State, or a Union Territory if a State is not agreeable, according to their spokesperson Ginza Vualzong, while the Zomi Council (apex body of Zo tribes) has taken the position that specifics of autonomy can only be discussed once dialogue begins with the Union government. It added that it is not part of the ITLF.
The 24 Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups (which includes Kuki and Zo groups) under the umbrella of Kuki National Organisation and the United People’s Front have taken a similar position as that of the Zomi Council and have chosen to distance themselves from the Kuki Inpi’s statement, just as the Zomi Council has.
Meanwhile, the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs of Manipur, who had initiated the fresh demand for a separate administration within weeks of the ongoing conflict beginning, have also said that discussing specifics of the separation is “best left for commencement of the negotiations”.
However, all of these groups reiterated that a consensus will soon be developed on how the separation should occur, and that they remained united in their demand for separating from the Manipur government.
The ethnic conflict in Manipur began on May 3 between the dominant Meitei people (valley-based) and the Kuki-Zomi people (one of the two hills-based Scheduled Tribe groups — the other being the Naga tribes — for which the immediate trigger is said to be a Manipur High Court order that directed the State government to recommend ST status for Meiteis. Within the first few weeks of the violence, Kuki-Zomi people were forced to leave the valley and Meitei people were forced out of the hills — essentially separating the two populations geographically.
This had resulted in 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs of the State first raising the demand for separation, who were joined by virtually all Kuki-Zomi groups across Manipur, including independent councils and CSOs for sub-tribes within the larger Kuki-Zomi group of tribes such as the Hmar Inpui, the Zomi Council, and others.
A coalition of CSOs was formed under the banner of the Coordinated Committee on Separate Administration Movement (CorSAM), which was joined by the recently formed ITLF as well. The group has held several discussions with some SoO groups, the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs and amongst themselves since its formation on the strategy to press for separation.
However, with the violence continuing, the Kuki Inpi released a statement on July 13, formally announcing that it is specifying its demand as that of a separate State under Article 3 of the Constitution, leaving some CorSAM groups miffed that such a call was taken without any consultation.
Sources within Zomi groups have said that keeping the demand for separation vague was necessary at this stage so that “negotiations with the Centre can have room to explore unique and localised political solutions for Manipur while remaining within the framework of the Constitution”.
“Specifying the nature of separation at this stage might also discourage the Union government from even coming to the table,” a representative of the Zomi Council told The Hindu, with a source adding that the Zomi Council had now decided to form a Steering Committee within itself to discuss the future course of action.
But even as the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs agreed with the position as put forward by the Zomi Council, one of the legislators told The Hindu, “There are only so many options for separation under the Constitution. Still, this is something that can only come up in negotiations.”
Amid this, the Hmar Inpui (apex body of Hmar Tribe) also held a Special Assembly in the wake of KIM’s statement, re-affirming their “age-old identity” of Hmar Mizo in a “declaration” on July 15 that insiders said indicated a tilt towards whatever position the Zomi Council is taking on this matter particularly.
As for the SoO Groups, both the KNO and the UPF have said that they will bring up the specifics of separating from Manipur only once the negotiations begin with the Union government and that till that time, their demand was for a “separate administration”. “What we call the separate administrative area is a matter of semantics and needs to be decided only at the negotiation table,” a source within the SoO groups said.
