To,
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson, UPA & President,
All India Congress Comittee,
10, Janpath, New Delhi.
Subject: Kuki state.
Respected Madam,
We, the Kuki State Demand Committee, representing the Kuki People and the highest political aspiration of the Kukis, would like to put forth the following points / issues for your kind perusal and sincere consideration to facilitate your informed intervention to resolve the long standing problems faced by the Kuki people as part of resolving the chronic political unrest in Manipur.
That, the Kuki people had fought the British to protect and preserve their freedom over their ancestral land since the 17th century, culminating in the Kuki Rebellion of 1917-19. Thereafter, we have joined the INA’s call for freedom to drive the colonial power off our land. The Kuki territories were administered directly by the British after the Kukis were defeated in 1919. It was later on administered through the Manipur Durbar and consequently was included within the territorial boundary of the state of Manipur by an accident of history and without the consent and wills of the Kuki people.
The Kuki National Assembly had as early as 1963 submitted a memorandum for a separate Kuki state because it was clear even then that the Kuki people will not be given their rightful due under a state dominated by a communal dominant majority, the Meitei people of the valley. Unfortunately, however, the Indian Government did not address the Kukis’ concerns then. State sponsored discrimination of the tribals; the Kukis in particular, over the decades following Independence and the formation of Manipur Territorial Council have rendered the Kuki people economically downtrodden, socially weak and politically vulnerable. The NSCN-IM’s genocidal campaigns against the Kuki people to forcibly wrest Kuki traditional lands witnessed the indifference of the state government dominated by the valley people over Kuki sufferings. The Kukis were forced to raise rag-tag militias to guard their villages in the absence of adequate state security forces and the collusion, in some cases, of the state forces with the Naga militants. The state government has turned a deaf ear to all pleas by the Kukis to resettle the Kuki villages that were burnt down by the NSCN (IM)- led forces, and have not cared to rehabilitate the displaced Kuki villagers.
The refusal to grant full-fledged district status to Sadar Hills, one of the six original District Council areas, till today is a clear manifestation of the communal nature of the state dominated by centrist forces, with complete disregard for decentralized democratic governance.
The Meitei dominated political parties’ opposition and successful deferment of re-organization of the Assembly Constituencies in the state by the Delimitation Commission of India, based on Census 2001, just because the tribals in the State stood to gain more seats in the state Assembly, is another undeniable manifestation of the dominant community’s discrimination and subjugations of the Kuki tribal people.
The tragedy of discrimination of the Kukis under the present arrangement where 90% of the people who lives in 10% of the territory controls the state machinery and persistently seek to alienate the tribals from their lands is a precarious situation that calls for an alternative arrangement to secure tribal rights and to facilitate the tribals to join the rest of the country in the march towards peace and progressive development.
Recent happenings in the state’s political sphere are loud reminders of the state government’s intent (dictated by the majority community’s interest) to deprive the tribals of their land and the game-plan to dominate and assimilate the tribals for the benefit of the Meitei majority. District boundaries have been manipulated and tribal areas placed under the revenue administration of valley districts. The protesting tribal bodies are not given a sincere hearing nor have their petitions been attended to with any motive of redressing their grievances.
The Autonomous District Councils were forcibly constituted under a decapitated Act which grants neither any effective power over tribal lands nor any substantive financial power. The sane tribal voices opposing the Constitution of the ADCs in the tribal districts under the present Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous District Councils Act (MHAADC), 1971 (Third Amendment) were unheeded. Longstanding tribal demand for extension of the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution to the tribal districts to ensure tribal self governance, decentralization and tribal land protection has been vehemently opposed by the dominant community. The image of the INC as a just and progressive party has been dented by the majority community’s interests being pursued by the State Congress unit dominated by them.
These, madam, are a few of the glaring discriminations against the Kuki people in the so-called state of Manipur which has rendered the Kukis irreparably disillusioned with the arrangement. These are factors behind the armed insurgency which is sprouting in our traditionally peaceful land, compelling our youths to take up arms in search of an elusive sense of security.
Having cited some of the instances of injustices and discriminations that the Kukis have been enduring since Indian Independence, it is our duty and obligation to inform you that the Kuki people, represented by our Apex Civil body, the KUKI INPI, in concert with all the Kuki armed organizations, have resolved to assert our rights to govern our own affairs over our ancestral territories, which include the present Sadar Hills region, Churachandpur and Chandel Districts of Manipur, and all Kuki villages in Ukhrul, Senapati and Tamenglong Districts of Manipur, as a separate Kuki State under the Indian Constitution with special provisions to protect our traditional institutions and customs to the extent that they are in conformity with democratic governance and promotion of the welfare of our people.
We sincerely hope you that would take due cognizance of our resolution, dictated by our dire political situation, and take up our cause in your deliberations with your colleagues in the party and government to redress the injustice that the Kuki people, as citizens of this nation, have endured for decades. We express our sincere hope that you will help expedite political dialogue between the Government of India and the Kukis to find a political solution that will promote peace and development.
Thanking you and awaiting your prompt response on the matter.
Sincerely Yours,
(PAUCHINDOU) (CHAWNGTHAHLEI)
Secretary, Chairman,
Kuki State Demand Committee Manipur
Copy to:
1. Prime Minister of India, for perusal and necessary action.
2. Union Home Minister of India, for perusal and necessary action.
