Kuki MLAs, civil society groups decide against dialogue with Manipur’s Biren Singh Government

A separate administration in the form of a Union Territory for the Kuki-dominated districts was widely deliberated during the meeting

Cachar: A doctor treats violence-affected people from Manipur, at a relief camp in Cachar district of Assam on May 16. | Photo Credit: PTI

At least eight tribal MLAs from Manipur and various civil society organisations decided not to engage in any dialogue with the N. Biren Singh’s Government running the northeastern State which was recently rocked by ethnic violence, according to a statement issued by them.

Several civil society entities belonging to Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar ethnic groups in Manipur and the tribal legislators from there, including BJP MLAs, held a meeting in Mizoram’s capital Aizawl on May 17 to discuss the tension in the neighbouring State.

"The meeting resolved [the community would] stand unitedly to face the present crisis and not to engage in any dialogue or talk with the present Manipur government," the statement said.

During the meeting, it was decided to hold consultations on a wider scale so as to arrive at a common political agenda with other groups, it said.

A separate administration in the form of a Union Territory for the Kuki-dominated districts or other political safeguard was widely deliberated during the meeting, a leader of a tribal group, who participated in the discussion, told PTI.

Ten Kuki MLAs, including seven from the BJP, had on May 12 urged the Centre to create a separate administration for the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar community in the wake of the violent clashes between the majority Meiteis and the tribals in Manipur.

However, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh had rejected the demand, while asserting that the territorial integrity of the State will be “protected at all costs”.

Meanwhile, violence-affected people from Manipur continued to trickle into Mizoram, taking the total number of displaced people seeking shelter in the state to 6,663, an official said on May 17.

Clashes broke out in Manipur after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.

Meiteis account for about 53% of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40% of the population and reside in the hill districts.

The ethnic clashes claimed over 70 lives and some 10,000 Army and para-military personnel had to be deployed to bring back normalcy in the northeastern State.