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Two groups of the Kuki militants: the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF) have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to subdue the rising tension between the Kukis and the Nagas in Manipur. October 17 marked the culmination of a three-year observation of a centenary since the “Anglo-Kuki War” (1917-1919) in Kangpokpi district of Manipur.
The joint representation of the KNO and UPF was made after the Manipur government ordered the stone memorials installed by the Kukis be taken down— a move which both KNO and UPF found to be “peculiar” since no objection was made when the Nagas of Manipur celebrated the declaration of their Independence Day on August 14.
“Inevitably the Kukis feel discriminated, and under no circumstances will attempt to erase history be tolerated,” their statement said.
In light of the centenary, the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary Commemoration Committee under the aegis of Kuki Inpi Churachandpur (KIC), which is the apex body of Kuki people in various northeastern states, asked all Kuki villages to install memorial stones with the inscription, “In defence of our ancestral land and freedom”, in remembrance of their forefathers who fought the British during the war.
But Naga bodies objected to the Kukis installing these stone memorials on the Naga’s ancestral land. The Nagas claimed that the Kukis have been trying to distort history as there has been no “Anglo-Kuki War” but a “Kuki Rebellion” in 1917. The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Nagas of Manipur, asserted that the term ‘rebellion’ is more appropriate as the Kuki rebellion against the British was for labour recruitment drive under the Labour Corps Plan. Following this, the Nagas conveyed to the state government to take appropriate steps such that the history of Manipur is not distorted.
Tensions between the Kukis and Nagas are not new, and in light of them building up again, the Manipur government ordered that the stone memorials be taken down. KNO and UPF wrote to the PMO in response to this order.
After the conclusion of the Anglo-Kuki War in 1919, for administrative and logistical ease, the state of Manipur was divided into four areas: Imphal, Churachandpur, Tamenglong (that was inhabited by the Kukis, Kabui Nagas and Katcha Nagas) and Ukhrul (that was inhabited by Kukis and the Tangkhul Nagas).
The reorganisation of Manipur is cited to be the most central result of the war. The Kuki chiefs who were not used to any bureaucratic control in the earlier now had to function bureaucratically.
Furthermore, it is believed that Kukis came to Manipur in the late 18th/early 19th century from neighbouring Myanmar. While some of the Kukis settled next to the Myanmar border, others settled in Naga villages, which ultimately became a contentious issue between the two tribes. The relationship between the two worsened during the colonial period and reached a low point during the Anglo-Kuki war, referred to as a “dark period” in the oral history of the Tangkhul Nagas. Essentially, identity and land govern their ethnic conflict.
Recently, on September 13, The People’s Chronicle reported that Kukis across the state of Manipur observed the “Kuki Black Day” to mark 26 years since the “Joupi massacre” during which, as a result of clashes between the Nagas and Kukis, over 100 Kuki civilians were allegedly killed in the hills of Manipur.
Before the British came in, the Kukis had been one of the dominant tribes of hill areas surrounding Imphal during the rule of the Maharajas of Manipur. The Kukis exercised full control over their territory until then. Therefore, the Anglo-Kuki War was essentially a war for the independence and liberation of the Kukis from the imperialists. The war had unified the efforts of Kukis living in northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Even so, the state of Manipur had already lost its independence to the Britishers in 1891 and became free only after India became independent in 1947.
The Anglo-Kuki War began when the Britishers asked the Kukis to get enrolled in their labour corps in France and the latter resisted.
According to the book, “The Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919: A Frontier Uprising against Imperialism during the First World War”, the course of the war can be divided into three phases: the first phase (March-October 1917) was the phase of passive resistance, the second phase (October 1917-April 1919) was the period of armed resistance and the third phase (April 1919 onward) was the period of trial and tribulation.
According to the book, the third phase was marked by Kukis serving collective punishments as the Kuki population was subjected to penal labour for five years and their leaders were transported and subject to trials.
