New Delhi: Even as violence continues to rage in Manipur, Kuki-Zomi organisations have accused the state government under chief minister N. Biren Singh of “opening a new front” in the ongoing violence after Singh said that his government is considering setting up a committee to rethink the Scheduled Tribe status of the Kukis, the Indian Express reported.Any such attempts to “use the state machinery to target” their community will further escalate the conflict, they warned.Singh’s statement on Tuesday, January 9, came in response to queries on a representation made to the Union ministry of tribal affairs by the Meitei leader of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), Maheshwar Thounaojam, for the exclusion of Kukis from the state’s ST list. Thounaojam holds the view that “they (Kukis) are not the original inhabitants of Manipur”. The Centre forwarded the representation to the state government, as the latter’s recommendation is a prerequisite to process any such proposal.Singh said that an all-tribe committee would be formed to decide whether the Chin Kuki community would be deleted from the Scheduled Tribes list of the state. “They were included in the (ST) list of Manipur but how they were included needs to be re-examined. Before commenting, we have to form a committee consisting of all tribes (of the state),” Singh told reporters on Tuesday, according to Press Trust of India.Kuki is a collective name of various tribes of Manipur, and Chin is one of those. The Chin community people also share ethnicity with the Mizos of Mizoram and a section of the residents of neighbouring Myanmar.Taking exception to Singh’s remarks, Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zomi organisation based in Churachandpur, accused “communal” Biren Singh of “opening a new front”. “It is no secret that the state government in Manipur, controlled by the majority Meitei community, overtly and covertly supports the Meiteis in the current ethnic conflict. The communal Biren Singh administration has now opened a new front by pushing for the removal of the Kuki-Zo community from India’s ST list,” read a statement issued by the ITLF on Wednesday.“Any further attempts by Biren Singh to use the state machinery to target the Kuki-Zo community will only escalate the conflict, which will ultimately be detrimental to him and the state,” the statement further added.Kuki Inpi, the apex body of Kuki tribes in Manipur, called on the state government to stop any attempts to “alter the ST status of the community” immediately. “Kuki Inpi Sadar Hills vehemently condemns any attempt to erase the Kuki community from Scheduled Tribe status, as it blatantly violates the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Such actions not only undermine the Constitutional safeguards provided to tribal communities but also perpetuate injustice and discrimination,” Kuki Inpi said in a statement.Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year and over 180 people were killed.The violence erupted on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53% of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40% and reside mainly in the hill districts.
