In terms of territorial claims, the Kuki-Chin now dubbed Kuki-Zo remains hazy even as ‘maps’ are being floated around occasionally in the so-called ‘Zalengam’ papers. The change in nomenclature seems to do with the basic objective of winning over the patronage of Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga for whom the Manipur conflict turned out to be a God given opportunity for airing the call of Greater Mizoram once just months away from the ensuing state assembly elections.
Nearly 11,785 people displaced by ethnic violence in adjoining Manipur are taking refuge on Mizoram. These Kukis began trickling in after violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, adding to some 40,000 ethnically-related people displaced from Myanmar and Bangladesh since February 2021. The Manipur refugees are taking shelter across the 11 districts of Mizoram, living temporarily in the houses of relatives, churches, and community halls. Kolasib district had the highest number of such refugees (4,296) followed by 3,837 in Aizawl and 2,855 in Saitual district.
The Greater Mizoram issue always rears up its head during elections only to die out afterwards. It is a fact that inter-community relations in Mizoram are not that rosy and Zo identity is still in the making. This is also due to the resistance of the process of “Mizoisation” by smaller cognate tribes like the Paites and Hmars who also lives across the border in Manipur’s Churachandpur district.
The assertion by Hmars for establishing an autonomous region in Mizoram is very much alive. The friction between minority political aspirations and the state government continues till today. But given the current situation, the Kuki-Chins on this side of Manipur had to reach out to their kins in Mizoram. The Kuki-Zo MLAs from Manipur had gone to seek help from Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and they also lobbied with the Mizo CSOs there.
As they consider the Tiddim highway in Manipur territory ‘not safe’ for travel and other purposes, they rely on the National Highway which goes through Mizoram for travel and supplies. In fact, the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur are completely dependent on Mizoram.
When the demand for a separate administration first came up in the public domain the immediate focus became Churachandpur district and Kangpokpi was never mentioned. The rumour doing the rounds then was that since Churachandpur was a compact zone having a concentration of Kuki-Zo people and an alternative highway through Mizoram it could most likely be considered for bifurcation, although humanely impossible.
While Kangpokpi district is dominated by the Kukis, Churachandpur hosts a number of communities within the umbrella of Kuki-Zo group. So, if the case of Kangpokpi is considered it could only end up like West Pakistan and East Pakistan during the partition of the Indian sub-continent. When the Kukis raised the demand for a separate administration their eye was on every district of the state, which is exactly why the Nagas made a declaration that in the event of any solution no Naga land should be touched. Yes, the Nagas do have a ‘map’ including that of Greater Nagalim.
As one compares the so-called maps of Zalengam and Nagalim, there are several overlapping areas and contestations in terms of territorial claims which are practically impossible to sort out. In the early 90s, there was a huge population shift as a result of Naga-Kuki clashes which rocked Manipur for about a year. As the communal conflict between Naga Lim Guard and Kuki Defence Force raged on, thousands of Kukis settled in Naga dominated areas sought shelter in Kuki dominated areas in the vicinity of Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh.
Hundreds of innocent villagers on both sides were killed and several villagers laid to waste. Kangpokpi and Moreh became major grouping centres for the Kuki refugees and several new villages sprung up, while Nagas remain in their original habitat. In short, the territorial claims of both hazy.
