Labelling Kukis as 'Illegal Immigrants' Has No Substance; Illegal Immigrants Among Meiteis Need to be Found Out

It is ridiculous that the Meiteis’ Chief Minister N. Biren Singh always put the blame on “illegal immigrants” for stoking the ongoing violence and unrest between the majority Meitei and the Kuki communities, and promised to “identify and repatriate them”, despite the lack of substantive evidences of their involvement in the ongoing violence in Manipur.

In his pursuit of searching for an escape route for his deep role in the ongoing pre-planned state-sponsored ethnic cleansing pogrom, the fascist regime under the narcissist N. Biren Singh has been scapegoating the term “illegal immigrants” for the whole Kuki populace, which is discriminatory, derogatory and unconstitutional.

N. Biren Singh must note that some 5000 Myanmarese who had crossed the international border and are temporarily staying in Kamjong, Ukhrul districts are not “illegal immigrants” but “refugees.” Due to the ongoing conflict and unrest in Myanmar some refugees might have come into Manipur or Mizoram, but they will definitely go back once peace returns to their country.

Even if there are such refugees, why should the Kuki community be blamed or fatal accusations be given to them? How many of these “illegal immigrants” actually belong to Kuki tribes? And, how many of them are Naga, Meitei, Shans or Bamar? Biren’s propaganda would be exposed if he shows the actual break-up of his purported “illegal immigrants’ data.”

The fact of the matter is that the present ethnic violence in Manipur is a pre-planned state- sponsored ethnic cleansing pogrom against the Kukis. The devastation is caused soley by the communal chief minister N. Biren Singh and his political cohorts such as the Meiteis’ titular king and Rajya Sabha MP, Leisemba Sanajaoba. The refugees have nothing to do with the nurtured heinous crimes against the Kukis.

Who are illegal immigrants?

Among the Meiteis, a large number of them are illegal immigrants who had immigrated to the valley of Manipur, India, from Kabaw valley of Burma/ Myanmar during the ‘Seven years devastation, 1819-1926. There are still unaccounted numbers of Meiteis illegally immigrated to the Indian state of Manipur from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Last year in April, the valley-based media had reported that the Bangladeshi Meiteis were in a dire situation. The Meitei residents in Bangladesh’s Sylhet town and Bishgao village strongly felt that the existence of the community in those areas would become a history in the near future as their population decreases rapidly due to migration to other parts of the country, particularly the Indian state of Manipur.

A team of Thoubal District Working Journalists’ Union, which was touring the Meitei and Meitei Pangal inhabited areas in Bangladesh had came across possible signs of extinction of Manipuri language (Meeteilon) from use in the next generation. The team found that there were many Meitei houses in the heart of Sylhet town until recently but many of them have now shifted to other areas of the country or moved to India after selling off their homestead lands to Bangladeshis.

Recently, on May 10, 2024, a delegation from the United Committee Manipur (UCM) led by President Joychandra Konthoujam had embarked on a journey to Bangladesh and Tripura with the aim of engaging with the Meitei community residing in the region. The team’s mission was to document and share the stories surrounding the ongoing conflict in Manipur and to find their ways for immigration towards Manipur.

Indigeneity of the Kukis in Manipur:

As opposed to the Meiteis labelling of the Kukis as ‘illegal immigrants’, the Kukis are rather the indigenous community of Manipur, the indigeneity of which is well documented by the colonial writers. The false narrative of “massive illegal immigration from Myanmar” has been created with the sole intention of supporting the narrative that Kukis are ‘foreigners’ and illegal migrants, that they don’t belong to Manipur, but the truth is that the Kukis have inhabited Manipur for ages, and the free movement regime has been working well not only for the Kukis and Nagas but for all communities, including the Meiteis, who have benefited from it commercially more than any other communities.

For instance, the census of 1901 records the population of Manipur at 2,84,488. Of it, the Kuki population accounted for 41,262, which meant the tribe constituted 14.5% of the state’s total population in 1901. According to the 2011 census, the population of the Kukis stands at 4,48,214 persons as against the state’s total population of 28,55,794. In 110 years, the growth rate of the Kuki population is less than 2%.

Also, the Kuki settlements in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh predate the British rule. Identified as Chin or Zo, the Kuki settlements cover an approximate area of 50,000 square miles. However, without their consent, the British colonisers made the Kukis and their territories a part of British India (Manipur) and British Burma (Chin state) in 1894. In 1947, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was carved out of British India. A set of arbitrary man-made boundaries were created. However, the hill area of Manipur has remained a part and parcel of Kuki ancestral land. Therefore, it is not the Kukis who crossed into Manipur territory. Kuki indigeneity in the region predates the Manipur state itself.

Labelling of the Kuki tribes as foreigners or Myanmarese is also unconstitutional as these tribes had been recognised and included in the schedule list of the tribals in the Constitution of India. Notably, in the backdrop of N. Biren Singh’s proposed plan for deportation of the refugees, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) had urged the Indian authorities to immediately halt all further forcible returns of Myanmar refugees from Manipur and should instead offer protection and support to those seeking safety from serious harm, in line with the non-refoulement principle and India’s other obligations under international human rights law.

The forced return of Myanmar refugees breach the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forcible removal of anyone to territories where they may face real risks of irreparable harm, such as torture or other ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations.

The non-refoulement principle is the cornerstone of international protection under international law, including under customary international law and is therefore binding on all States.

Earlier, a Myanmar-based organisation had asked the Manipur government not to deport Myanmar refugees back to the war-torn country unless they choose to return. They say people returning are likely to face conscription. In a statement, the Burma Refugees Committee – Kabaw Valley said they feared that they would be handed over to the military junta.

The organisation said that Myanmar imposed the People’s Military Service Law — referred to as “conscription law” — on February 10. “We are extremely worried that handing the Myanmar nationals over to the junta would prompt the military regime to use them as human shields on the battlefields,” it said.