Kuki-Zo and Meitei civil society organisations in Manipur have planned to hold events on May 3 to mark one year of the ethnic conflict in the State, albeit in completely different terms.
While the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) in Churachandpur and the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), apex body of Kuki tribes in the State, are marking the day as one of “remembrance” for their fallen and “awakening” of their people, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a valley-based civil society organisation, is observing it as “the day illegal immigrants backed by narco-terrorists began their aggression”, making an appeal to track down over 35 of their people who are still missing.
The ethnic conflict between the valley-based Meitei people and the hills-based Kuki-Zo tribal communities began on May 3, 2023 amid rising tensions over an order of the Manipur High Court, which directed the State government to consider the inclusion of the Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list.
