Are Kukis Secessionists?

Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh, in one of his speeches, alleged that the Kukis are trying to break (away from) India. It was a serious allegation to be made by a chief minister of a state, a head of a state who is supposed to make only responsible statements. To fact-check his allegation we need to trace the root of the Kukis’ demand for separate administration. Kukis’ movement for self-determination can be traced back to the Anglo-Kuki War ( 1917-1919) or so-called Kuki Rebellion or Kuki Rising. It was purely a war to defend the ancestral land and the freedom of the Kukis from British colonialism, and was not “secessionism” in any sense of the term.

Post Indian Independence, Kukis, in the name of Kuki National Assembly, submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1960 demanding for a separate state within the India Union. Then came an era when the neighbors of the Kukis, even the meiteis, started taking up arms to attain independence from India. The waves of self-determination prevailing in that era forced the hands of the Kukis to take up arms for their self-defence. Hence , the first Kuki armed group (KNF) came into being in 1987. The first leader of KNF (L) Shri Nehlun Kipgen, had envisaged a Kuki homeland within the Union of India, in his memorandum to the Govt of India.

This was followed by the formations of more Kuki armed groups fighting for protection of its people and also for self-determination. The different groups were finally clubbed under two umbrellas viz., KNO and UPF. The KNO and UPF entered into Suspension of Operation (SoO) with Govt. of India and Govt. of Manipur in 2005 and 2008 respectively. The basis of the tripartite agreement was a separate Kukiland under the Union of India and not at all infringing on the territorial integrity of Manipur. With this agreement in mind, the Kukis have been hoping for some autonomy within Manipur.

Then came a sudden onslaught on the Kukis by the majority Meiteis, backed by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The ‘ethnic cleansing’ upon the minority Kukis was so severe and brutal that the Kukis had no other option, but to be separated from the Meiteis, geographically and politically. The historical loyalty of the Kukis with Manipur has been repaid in the vilest manner. The wound is now too deep for any ‘glue’ to join the two communities back together again. Kuki armed groups had been forced to remove the “protecting the territorial integrity of Manipur” clause in the SoO agreement, and the tripartite agreement turned into a bipartite, where the Govt. of Manipur removed itself from the SoO picture. Even after the exclusion of Govt. of Manipur in the SoO agreement, Kukis’ demand for separate administration still remains within the ambit of the Union of India. There has never been a demand for secession from India and there never will be. Everyone, including the meitei Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, should be clear of this fact.