FNCC accuses WKIC of fabricating history
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, July 04 2025:
Foothills Naga Coordination Committee (FNCC) has accused the World Kuki Intellectuals Council (WKIC) of dragging the Naga people into what it termed a self-created mess, labelling it a self-styled organisation that peddles fabricated historical narratives.
In a press note issued by its Media Cell, the FNCC dismissed the WKIC as a "self-styled outfit" floated in May 2023, accusing it of propagating concocted narratives that insult both the intelligence of Manipur's indigenous peoples and documented history.
The FNCC condemned the WKIC's 25th June press statement titled "Seven Decades of Tolerance: Tangkhuls' Geo-Politics", calling it a "reckless provocation" and a "shameless attempt to stoke animosity" by dragging the Naga people into a conflict that, according to the FNCC, is self-created by certain Kuki leaders.
The committee accused the WKIC of misusing the name of the Zo people, despite repeated objections from Zo communities themselves.
"Despite being cornered and confronted on multiple fronts - not only from the Meetei but also from the Zo communities themselves - this self-styled organisation continues to misuse the nomenclature of the Zo people," the statement read.
Citing colonial-era records, the FNCC said the refugee status of the Kukis is well-documented and beyond dispute.
The FNCC referred to writings by Sir James Johnstone, Political Agent of Manipur from 1877 to 1886, who in his book "My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills (1896)" described Kuki immigrants as wild and turbulent and encroaching on the lands of older tribes.
It also cited Captain RB McCabe, who in the 1890s noted that the Kukis were new arrivals from the Chin Hills.
The statement mentioned AG McCall, Lushai Hills deputy commissioner during the 1940s, who wrote that the Kuki groups had largely migrated from the Chin Hills and settled in various parts of the Lushai and adjoining hills in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Major General Alexander Mackenzie, Chief Commissioner of Assam, was also quoted as having confirmed that the Kukis were driven to settle in the British-administered hills due to internal disturbances and pressure from Burma.
In addition, the FNCC referred to CA Soppitt's 1887 work that corroborated this pattern of migration.
The FNCC dismissed WKIC's claims of a so-called Kuki administration or imagined 'Kuki wish list' as not only futile but dangerously provocative.
It argued that such claims are laughable given that the history of Kukis is well-documented and that their leaders have historically sought refugee assistance and funds.
The FNCC warned that these false narratives would inevitably backfire.
The committee further stated that the real culprits behind the ongoing conflict are not the Zo, Hmar or Paite communities, but a handful of self-proclaimed Kuki leaders who, in the name of victimhood, have turned hill slopes into poppy plantations, making the region a hub for the drug trade and generating crores in illicit revenue while ruining innocent lives.
The committee further warned against any attempt to malign the Naga Army or manipulate the legacy of Naga leaders such as Th Muivah.
"History does not bend to your whims; nor will the patience of the Naga endure endless provocations," it stated.
The FNCC also said that "the time for hollow slogans and reckless propaganda is over", while urging WKIC to keep the Naga name out of its statements and to respect historical truth and neighbourly relations.
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