Wary of Kuki narrative, Nagas break silence as Manipur conflict drags on

Last month, the NSCN (I-M) – the largest Naga insurgent group, operating in both Manipur and Nagaland – issued its first statement after the start of the violence. Its women’s wing strongly condemned the sexual assault against three Kuki-Zomi women, which was captured on video.

The July-August edition of the NSCN (I-M)’s ‘news bulletin’ Nagalim Voice carried a piece titled ‘The Myth of Zalengam (Kukiland) in Naga Ancestral Land’, saying: “While the Nagas have expressed solidarity with the Kuki-Zo community on the issue of ‘crime against humanity’, they should tread very carefully and never overdo and avoid pandering in the name of ‘Zalengam’. Under the given situation, demanding for ‘separate administration’ or ‘Kuki state’ is a hugely emotive issue that may unleash new political dynamics if wisdom and good judgment (are) not exercised with foresight. Thus, political risk assessment is critically important for the Kuki-Zo community as the Nagas wouldn’t allow war-mongering intrusion / provocation into their ancestral domain.”

The piece in Nagalim Voice warned that the demand for a separate administration for Kuki-Zomi territories in Manipur faces “the risk of coming into collision course with the Nagas”, referring to the contesting territorial claims of the two ethnic groups.

Zalengam is the name of a proposed Kuki nation of Kuki-inhabited territories across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

On Monday, the United Naga Council – a powerful Naga tribal body of Manipur – issued a statement accusing the Kuki-Zomi community of “distortion of Naga history” in the bid to push for its demands. In particular, it objected to the districts of Chandel and Tengnoupal – the latter was carved out of Chandel in 2017 – being included among Kuki-Zomi territories by the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs in the Manipur Assembly, in a recent memorandum to the Prime Minister.

Chandel has a predominantly Naga population, and in 2017, when new districts were carved out, the UNC had protested saying that Naga villages had been “appropriated” and merged with non-Naga areas in an attempt to divide the Naga people.

These are not new divides between the two ethnic groups. The Nagas and Kukis have historically been rivals in Manipur, over competing claims on territory, and the tensions had resulted in the deadly clashes of 1993. While the Nagas have proclaimed a neutral stance in the ongoing conflict, their stand over the Nagas and the Meities being “the two indigenous communities of Manipur” aligns with that of the Meiteis.

“We have to tell the world that we are very much alive. Everything is politics and we can’t let them (the Kukis) encroach on our land,” a Naga leader told The Indian Express, adding that the Nagas “are prepared to face any eventuality”.

The UNC statement also raised allegations of “illegal immigration”, another claim made by the Meitei side.

“In all the districts, there has been increasing expansion of villages and creation of new villages rampantly and at a rapid pace. Columns of illegal camps are being built at an alarming rate near the town of Moreh and its surrounding areas to facilitate the settlement of those intruding Kukis from Myanmar. If the flow of illegal migrants is not stopped by the Government of India and the Government of Manipur, the day will not be long when the indigenous population will be reduced to a minority,” the UNC stated.

The Naga side has become vocal on the conflict just as the violence has reached Manipur’s so far-untouched Naga-dominated territory. On August 18, three Kuki men were killed in a village in Tangkhul Naga-dominated Kamjong district, by suspected Meitei militants. In a reaction to this, the NSCN (I-M) stated that “under no circumstances the Nagas want the Meitei-Kuki-Zo violence spilled into the Naga areas”.

Now there are murmurs within the Kuki-Zomi community of “a Naga hand” assisting the Meiteis. These have grown louder since a video emerged last week of a “private” in the Naga Army – the military wing of the NSCN (I-M) – “confessing” to carrying out a sale worth “10-15 lakh” of weapons such as AK-47 and SLR to a Meitei insurgent group.

While admitting that the man in the video was associated with the Naga Army, the NSCN (I-M) denied allegations that it was proof of the militant group supplying weapons to Meitei ultras. The NSCN (I-M) claimed that the private had, in fact, been tortured into making the claims by security forces, and said he had been captured and kept at an Army Camp in Imphal.

The NSCN (I-M) slammed the security forces of trying to “drag” it into a “communal pool of violence”. The Army has not responded to these statements.