Hmar, Zo bodies back call to delete AKT from ST list
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 24 2025: Two organisations representing Hmar and Zo people have endorsed the proposal sent to the Central Government by Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) and the Meetei Alliance (MA), seeking removal of 'Any Kuki Tribes (AKT)' from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list of the Constitution of India.

The organisations viz The Youths of Eastern Zogam (YEZ) and Hmar Tiangval (HT), in separate statements, expressed concerns that the inclusion of 'Any Kuki Tribe' (AKT) in the ST list poses a serious existential threat to smaller non-Naga tribes.

Ambiguous entry, asserts YEZ

The YEZ said that their call for the deletion of AKT from the ST list is essential not only to uphold the legal clarity but also to ensure lasting peace and genuine coexistence among all communities in Manipur.

Extending 'full and unequivocal support' to the letter sent by TIM and MA, it stated that including AKT in the ST list is Constitutionally unhealthy, ethnographically unsubstantiated, and detrimental to indigenous tribes who have their own distinct identities.

YEZ also stated that the inclusion of AKT in the ST list poses a serious existential threat to smaller non-Naga tribes, risks identity fraud, facilitates illegal immigration, and heightens communal tension.

YEZ urged the Government of India to act swiftly and remove the 'ambiguous' entry of AKT in the ST list.

Saying that they stand in solidarity with other tribal communities, it further urged Government to be vigilant about potential attempts to repackage AKT under terms like "Kuki Tribe" or "Kuki-Zo Tribe" and uphold the integrity of the Scheduled Tribe list based on the 1956 Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Reorganisation under the Constitution.

"Need for AKT is null and void"

The Hmar Tiangval said that the 32 STs barring AKT are adequate enough to represent all the distinct tribes of Manipur.

Saying that they also support the letter conveyed to Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on deleting AKT from the ST list, the Hmar organisation stated that the inclusion of AKT in the Scheduled Tribe list greatly affects the non Naga tribes particularly the smaller tribes who are increasingly being subsumed under the Kuki identity by Kuki supremacists 'through force and coercion' .

"The need for AKT is null and void," it further said.

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