Key Points

The five organisations, including Meitei Heritage Society and Thadou Inpi Manipur, also demanded firm action against any entities that block the free movement of all communities, as this is a constitutional right of all people and groups.

The Manipur government recommenced bus services on March 8 on four routes connecting five districts -- Imphal, Senapati, Kangpokpi, Bishnupur and Churachandpur. A large contingent of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel escorted the vehicles belonging to the government-owned Manipur State Transport Corporation (MSTC).

Though the buses were escorted by the CAPF, activists of the tribal organisations attacked the buses in different places, including in Kangpokpi district, leading to massive violence.

On March 8, at least 43 people, including 27 security personnel, were injured, and a protester identified as Lalgouthang Singsit was killed during the clashes in Kangpokpi and a few other districts as the Kuki-Zo tribal organisations protested against the resumption of the bus services between Imphal and the hill districts to alleviate public inconvenience and as an initiative to bring back normalcy in the state.

These organisations in a joint statement have also demanded to introduce an Assam-like National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise to identify "illegal immigrants" through an updated process.

"We reaffirmed to safeguard the integrity, unity, and interests of Manipur as a multi-ethnic state. All parties also recognised the significant roles and contributions of the Thadou people for the protection of the collective interest of Manipur people and the state's integrity," the statement said.

The statement said that all parties jointly resolved to appeal to the competent authorities for the deletion of the "unconstitutional and ambiguous category Any Kuki Tribes (AKT)" from the Scheduled Tribes' list of Manipur.

This unclear designation is being exploited by illegal immigrants to obtain undeserved Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, propagating a deadly ideology of "Kuki Supremacism" that endangers communal unity in Manipur and poses a direct threat to national security, the statement said.

These organisations claimed that AKT was incorrectly added to the list of ST of Manipur in 2003 for political reasons, paving the way for the (mass) influx and legalisation of illegal immigrants.

"The parties agreed that the term 'Kuki' is neither an ethnic nor a cultural identity, but rather a faulty colonial construct that was later exploited by the power-hungry activists and vested interests with separatist and political ideologies to gain control over local indigenous communities and separate from Manipur. None of the 29 originally recognised tribes of Manipur identify as Kuki or AKT. Therefore, the use or reference to the term 'Kuki' must be discontinued in all academic, research, and official settings."

The statement said that to preserve and protect the authentic identities of the indigenous people of Manipur, the names of the recognised ST listed under Article 342 of the Constitution of India, each with its own distinct and independent ethnic identity, should be used only when referring to that specific tribe or community and not under any blanket, colonial, or imposed label.

- IANS