Kuki Inpi cautions State Govt
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 16 2014: The Kuki Inpi has urged the State Government not to take up border fencing, forest laws, land-use laws, village authority acts etc without considering the historical/ancestral socio-political framework of the 'Kuki country' or 'Independent Hill Country' including the two kingdoms of Tripura and Manipur.

In an open memorandum addressed to Revenue Secretary K Radhakumar, the Kuki Inpi said that such initiatives would not only be a violation of ancestral/historical/socio-political rights but also would tantamount to a gross violation of Human Rights of the Kuki people and indigenous people of the whole region.

The importance of peace in this violence-affected region should be a prime consideration for the State Government and the Kuki Inpi would like to advise the State Government not to venture into issues that will further aggravate the already grave situation that the State is in, the memorandum said.

Prior to the colonisation of the Indo-Myanmar region by the British, this vast region, including Manipur was populated dominantly by the Kuki people and others with full fledged sovereignty in the form of the 'Kuki Inpi' and Manipur kings, the memorandum said.

This vast area was referred to as the 'Kuki country' or 'Independent Hill Country' by historians.

Beginning from 1761 right up to 1919, the Kuki Inpi (people) waged many wars to resist the British colonialism, it added.

In Manipur, the resistance to British rule is recorded as the Anglo-Kuki War 1917-1919 covering the entire hill area of Manipur including the present North East India and North West Myanmar, the memorandum said.

During British colonial period the socio-political structure remained mostly intact as in comparision to other colonised areas, the memorandum said and added that the Kuki village chiefs and Naga Khullahpas were not taxed by the British.

Land ownership/rights, freedom of movement and traditional administrations etc were not disturbed, it added.

After the end of colonialism in south/south-east Asia the Kuki population and Nagas tribes got divided on paper under India, erstwhile East Pakistan and Myanmar sovereign States.

However, due to the historical socio-political rights enjoyed by the Kukis and other tribal peoples in the region, land ownership/rights and freedom of movement traditional administration etc have not been disturbed thus far, the memorandum said.

Though the Kuki people in general deserve much more due to our glorious socio-political history by defending the whole region for all Indigenous peoples, there is currently constitutional protection of our land ownership/rights, free movement and traditional administrations etc to a certain degree by the central govt of India in particular, it added.

Of late there have been a lot of initiatives taken up by the Govt of Manipur which infringe on the ancestral/historical/socio-political rights enjoyed by the Kuki people, and the Kuki Inpi is left with no option but to convey to the State Govt to show restrain in the matter, it said.

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