The Kuki Chiefs’ Association, Manipur (KCAM) on Monday declared that it fully endorsed the demand for ‘separate state’ made by the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex civil body of the Kuki tribes, under Article 3 of Indian Constitution.
The association in its consultative meeting held on July 13, 2023 pledged its firm support and cooperation for fulfilment of the collective demand of the Kukis to ensure self-governance within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.
In view of the existential threat in the ongoing state-sponsored ethnic cleansing pogrom upon the Kukis by the Meiteis where gross human rights violations and crime against humanity are being perpetrated on the Kukis in the form of brutal killings, burning of houses and churches, sexual assaults, gangraping of women et al, the KCAM also declared that it shall continue to fight for the cause of the Kukis by extending all possible help to the Kuki Inpi Manipur until separate state is achieved.
A press statement issued by Information and Publicity of the Kuki Chiefs’ Association, Manipur, stated that despite the tremendous contributions of the Kukis toward the growth and security of the Manipur’s monarchy, the Meiteis recompensed the Kukis with the goriest gift byway of ethnic cleansing, subsequent to the abrogation of the Moirang Treaty (1859) and the Sanjenthong Treaty (1873). “Hence, there is no question of the two communities living together and more importantly, governing under a single political entity, any longer,” KCAM stated.
KCAM said: “The Kukis enjoyed absolute freedom over their territory long before the coming of the British colonialists in India and the benevolent Kuki chiefs’ dominion over their land, and the administration in social and political spheres in conformity with the age-old customary laws and traditions, mark the uniqueness and sanctity of the indigenous Kukis’ history.”
It claimed that the Kukis, in defence of their ancestral land and freedom, fought against the British for 3(three) consecutive years, popularly known as ‘The Anglo-Kuki War of 1917-1919 which evidenced the Kukis’ patriotism, valour and their love for freedom. “As a matter of fact, had it not been for the Kuki chiefs, the ascension of a considerable number of the Meitei kings to the throne would not have been possible and that the Kuki chiefs indeed had been largely credited for the safety and security of the Meitei kings on a series of occasions, let alone the thriving of the monarchy system,” it said.
Apart from other numerous primary sources, the association claimed that during the Seven Years’ Devastation (1819-1825), or Chahi Taret Khuntakpa, the Kuki people, under the benign leadership of their chiefs rendered help and support to the beleaguered Meiteis by providing food and shelter in the Kuki hill areas (the Kuki chiefs- lords of the soil-reigned over their land freely sans any external threat until the British conquered Manipur in 1892) particularly, king Hera Chandra to whom the Kuki chiefs provided refuge from their enemy.
The ascension of king Gambhir Singh to the throne had been facilitated by virtue of the assistance given by the Kuki chiefs. Two years after king Gambhir Singh’s ascension to the throne, he enhanced friendship ties with the Kuki chiefs, KCAM stated.
Moreover, the Kuki chiefs said, in their zeal and hope to restore freedom, and in a bid to have a separate state of their own, 180 (one hundred eighty) Kuki warriors had joined the Indian National Army (INA) under the leadership of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and fought alongside the Japanese forces in World War II.
“Nevertheless, after India attained independence from the yoke of the British, the enormous sacrifices and contributions of the Kukis had been watered down, resulting in statelessness,” KCAM said.
In the wake of denial and apathy on the part of the Government of India, the Kukis had submitted its first memorandum to Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India in 1960, for granting of separate state to the Kukis. However, much to the disillusionment of the Kukis, the successive government (s) of the day unemphatically turned a deaf’s ear to the repeated calls of the Kukis for a separate state through memoranda after memoranda till today, Kuki chiefs added.
