The World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC)-GHQ has written to president of the United Naga Council (UNC) Ng Lorho and the 10 Manipur Naga MLAs appealing to acknowledge the fact that ‘Old Kukis and New Kukis’ are bonded by blood, language, culture and traditions, which colonial regime ‘Divide & Rule’ to subjugate Kukis, who were further fragmented as Chin-Kuki-Mizo.
The letter jointly signed by president, WKZIC-GHQ, TS Haokip and vice-president (C&C) WKZIC-GHQ, L Tunta Ngaihte, reflected on the headlines of a local daily on June 30 which read ‘Settlement of Kuki issue should not touch Naga areas: Naga MLAs’ and sought mutual understanding, respect and co-operation.
It claimed that Kukis are one of the indigenous Naga tribes of Nagaland state, participating in the Naga Movement represented by Lengjang Kuki (interpreter), one among the 20 signatories of the ‘First Political Memorandum’ for ‘Naga Self-determination’ submitted to the ‘British Statutory Commission’ on January 10, 1929.
It expressed unfortunate over the tagging of Kukis as Immigrants or Refugees allegedly started by some un-named groups among Manipuri Nagas of Manipur who instigated the innocent Meiteis since early 1990s, that grew matured after 3 decades, adding that the Meiteis allegedly launched War upon the Kukis on the May 3. It was the same group, who converted various minority Kuki-Chin blood, categorised by the colonial regime as Old Kukis into Manipuri Naga polity through bullets, since late 1950s, it alleged.
It further added that minorities whom colonial regime classified as Old Kukis such as Aimol, Anal, Chiru, Chothe (Chawte), Inpui, Kharam, Koireng (Koren), Kom, Lamkang, Maring, Monshang, Muyon, Purum and Tarao tribes of Manipur are all Kuki-Chin blood, inter related clans and sub-clans with same Language with related dialects, Cultures and traditions, with those Mizo tribes of Mizoram, Chin tribes of Chin Hills and Tripura Kuki tribes.
The data of the so claimed ‘Bone of Contention’ between Chin-Kukis and Manipuri Nagas of Tengnoupal and Chandel districts goes as: ‘The erstwhile Tengnoupal district, now bifurcated into Tengnoupal and Chandel districts for administrative convenience, is the land and abode of both ‘Old Kukis and New Kukis’ in Outer Manipur with 134 old Kuki villages and 112 New Kuki villages in Chandel district and 75 old Kuki villages and 93 New Kuki villages in Tengnoupal district’, as stated in the same local daily on November 9, it mentioned.
The Chin-Kuki blood old Kuki tribes include Aimol, Anal, Lamkang, Maring, Monshang, Muyon, Purum etc and New Kukis such as Gangte, Khongsai, Lushai, Mate, Paite, Thadou, Vaiphei and Zou tribes respectively, it maintained.
These old Kuki tribes have their Revolutionary Organisations as ‘United Komrem Revolutionary Army’ (UKRA) for Aimol, Kom, Chiru and Chothe tribes, the ‘United Minority Liberation Army’ (UMLA) for Monshang, Muyon and Purum tribes, and the ‘Pakan Re-Unification Army’ (PRA) for Anal and Lamkang tribes respectively, who are under the banner of ‘Kuki National Organisation’ (KNO), signing Suspension of Operation (SoO) with GoI in 2008 (Vide. Ethnicity and Insurgency in Myanmar/Burma, 2018, P- 151-52), till date, waiting for a Kuki Political solution by the Government of India, it stated.
The Kukis do not want any misunderstanding or hurt the sentiments of brethren fellow Nagas of Nagaland and Manipuri Nagas of Manipur as well, it said and appealed to be considerate of the situation to create mutual respect, co-operation and peaceful co-existence.
