CNPO, NSUC refute claim of Kuki Chiefs' Association
Source: The Sangai Express
Chandel, October 31 2019:
The Chandel Naga Peoples' Organization (CNPO) and Naga Students' Organization Chandel NSUC) issued a rejoinder on the statements issued by Kuki Chiefs' Association on October 26 regarding the distorted/concocted history and claim of Chandel and Tengnoupal as ancestral land of Kukis.
A press release issued by NSUC general secretary laid down the reasons for CNPO & NSUC opposing the centenary celebration of the Anglo-Kuki War.
It stated that there was no Anglo-Kuki War of 1917-19 in the history of Manipur and that the Kuki rising was known as Kuki Rebellion, which started on December 19, 1917 and ended in May 20, 1919 .
Many scholars has already clarified/ declared both in print and electronic media, it claimed.
There is no Kuki ancestral land or Kuki independent country in Tengnoupal/ Chandel districts, the statement further claimed.
It stated that the name of Kuki was heard only when Kukis arrived in 1845 and settled at Khangbarol village and questioned how the Kukis have claimed that there is an ancestral land in the said districts.
The Kukis fought against the British colonial power with the main aim to invade the ancestral land of the Nagas, it claimed and added that in support of the non-existence of Kuki land in Tengnoupal, a dispute land case was allegedly settled in favour of the Anals.
The Anal, Lamkang, Moyon, Monsang, Maring etc are classified as Nagas by the GoI according to the historical facts maintained by the political agents or the British administration, it alleged and added that the above mentioned tribes were called Naga in the early centuries before the Kukis arrive at Khangbarol.
The theory of forcing themselves to affiliate to Naga fold by the Tangkhul is baseless, it asserted.
The recent allegation that Nagas never lived in Chandel/Tengnoupal is completely wrong as many documentary evidences have proved that Nagas are land owner in Tengnoupal and Chandel districts and that these documentary evidences are a proof that there is no ancestral land of Kukis in Tengnoupal and Chandel districts, it claimed.
It maintained that safeguarding ancestral land, culture and custom by Kukis does not arise while protesting against the British administration.
"There is no record or any standing order for the Nagas to obtain prior permission from the Kuki Chiefs for settlement in any part of British Manipur according to the verdict of Land Dispute Court Cases", it added.
CNPO and NSUC further appealed the Kuki community and various Kuki committees to avoid any distortion and display of cultural attires of the Naga tribes of Chandel and Tengnoupal districts in any occasion or festivals.
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