Manipur flashpoint: Why Kuki-Paitei tribes are opposed to CM

Saikot MLA Paolienlal Haokip claimed that the state administration has “polarised” Manipur communities over the last few years, the flashpoint being the recent eviction of villagers from reserve forest land in Churachandpur district.

People near the site of a fire after violence broke out during the 'Tribal Solidarity March' called by All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM), in Imphal, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (PTI)

Written by: Esha Roy

5 min readNew DelhiMay 5, 2023 10:17 PM IST First published on: May 5, 2023 at 07:01 AM IST

Even before clashes between Meitei and Kuki-Paitei communities in Manipur reached a flashpoint, a group of Kuki MLAs arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday to meet the BJP central leadership. Their demand: a change in the party’s state leadership, specifically Chief Minister N Biren.

Saikot MLA Paolienlal Haokip, one of these legislators, claimed that the state administration has “polarised” Manipur communities over the last few years, the flashpoint being the recent eviction of villagers from reserve forest land in Churachandpur district.

The march carried out by tribal organisations on Wednesday, opposing the largely Meitei community’s demand for ST status, has been a point of conflict between the majority community and people from tribal communities, which has existed for well over a decade. Kuki leaders have called the demand another attempt by the Meitei community, which has 40 representatives in the 60-member Assembly, to take control over the entire state.

Haokip told The Indian Express on Thursday that the issue of eviction drive was simply the last straw — in a series of events over the last two years that has angered the Kuki-Paitei-Zomi community in Churachandpur district.

The state government has claimed that there have been similar eviction drives in Imphal valley, which is dominated by the Meitei community.

Vehicles in flames after violence broke out during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ called by All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM), in Imphal, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (PTI Photo)

But Haokip targeted the Chief Minister and said, “these drives were small — not at the level and extent of the drives carried out in Churachandpur district… targeting the Kuki community in the name of protecting forests and the environment. The Indian Forest Act, 1927, is not automatically applicable to Manipur because it is a ‘C’ state under the Constitution and this Act needs to be adopted by the Assembly first.

“There is a procedural requirement of notifying forests as reserved, but there is no such record of such a notification given to preexisting villages. In 1970s, land of 38 village chiefs was excluded from protected forests by the Forest Settlement Officer. Last November, the CM arbitrarily cancelled this order.”

Anger in Churachandpur, he maintained, is not against the BJP but against the CM.

Explained | Behind the violence in Manipur: Longstanding tensions between hill and valley people, the Meitei demand for ST status, and a recent HC order

Kuki leaders, including Haokip, pointed out that Biren has repeatedly alluded to the Churachandpur community as being “foreigners’’ and “outsiders”, who settled in Manipur from Myanmar. The Kuki-Zomi tribes are originally from Kuki-Chin hills in Myanmar.

People at the site of a fire incident after violence broke out on Wednesday between tribals and non-tribals (PTI)

Biren’s drive against poppy cultivation, widespread in Manipur for manufacture of drugs, has also targeted the Kuki community, community leaders said.

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Two days ago, the official Facebook page of the CM shared a news report on the seizure of 16 kg opium from Churachandpur with a message from Biren: “These are people who are destroying our generation. They are destroying our natural forests to plant poppy, and further igniting communal issues to carry out the drug smuggling business.’’

Imphal: Smoke billows out from a building that was set ablaze after violence broke out during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in Imphal, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (PTI Photo) (PTI05_04_2023_000319A)

Also Read | Manipur violence: Amit Shah on line with Biren, other CMs as more security forces rushed in

On April 11, three unauthorised churches were demolished by the state government following a court order in a tribal colony in Imphal East district — a colony inhabited largely by the Kuki community.

Stating that there is “a threat perception” among tribal communities on the demand for ST status by Meiteis, Haokip said, “The fear is that Meiteis are trying to take over tribal land, just as (they are attempting to) with evictions. I am not anti-Meitei, but as a tribal representative it is my duty to raise the concerns and demands of tribal people.”