The deplorable and miserable conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and their desperate appeal to allow them to return to their respective places are heart-wrenching. However, Meetei and Kuki IDPs can return to their respective places only after restoring free movement, mutual trust and respect between the two communities.
Unfortunately, some elements are interested in keeping the Meetei and Kukis geographically separated and preventing free movement to achieve their political objective of a Union Territory. One of the factors which facilitated the prevention of free movement, promotion of mutual trust, and the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two communities for the last 30 months is the prevalence of the unconstitutional privileges and the authorities of the institution of hereditary Kuki chieftainship.
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The Naga and the Kuki follow a hereditary chieftainship system of village administration, though some Naga tribes select their Chiefs by different traditional processes. The Chiefs of the Naga don’t claim ownership of the entire village land, and these lands are owned by the individual or the village community. The Nagas enjoy the right to inheritance and occupancy of land, which can’t be superseded by the Chiefs or elder of the clan, “Rampao.” The individual has the land tenures and can sell to anyone in the village.
The Naga Chiefs function as the ex officio chairman of the Village Authority as per the provisions of the Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956. They cannot overrule the advice of the village council and village elders. The Naga Chiefs follow democratic principles, and the individual enjoys the freedom provided by the Constitution of India.
On the contrary, the hereditary Kuki Chiefs are virtually kings/dictators of the villages under their jurisdiction, possessing the monopoly of the supreme authority of military, executive, legislative, and legal power. They claim ownership of the entire village land, including the forest. They don’t fully comply with the provisions of the Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956, stating that the Act is against their traditional customs. The Kuki Chiefs can overrule the advice of the village council and village elders. The hereditary Kuki Chief’s word is the law within his chiefdom, and his decision is final. The villagers who disobey him are severely punished or expelled. He can allot the land in the village to outsiders, including illegal migrants.
The Kuki Chief’s Association was formed in 1935 by the educated elite, mostly retired government officials. The Kuki Chiefs and their children have progressed immensely in the last century, and most of their sons have become village chiefs by establishing new villages. The increase in the number of villages in the Kuki-dominated hill districts published in the Gazette in 1969 and the information provided by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI, in 2023 is 1718 villages against the 204 villages that increased during the same period in the Naga and Meetei-dominated districts together (The data of Jiribam District is not included).
Most ordinary Kuki citizens remain below the poverty line (60% against 37% average of the state in 2011). The ordinary Kuki citizens still do not own any land and are highly vulnerable to exploitation by the Kuki Chiefs, militants, poppy growers, and vested interests. They are the source of workforce for the poppy growers and provide fertile ground for the recruitment of militants.
The ordinary Kuki citizens are highly vulnerable to misinformation and propaganda. They have become highly hypersensitive to the state government’s policies. Their sentiments have been relentlessly whipped up for many years with false propaganda of discontent and hatred. They now believe that every policy and action of the State Government is against their interest and targeted at their community. The hereditary Kuki Chiefs, militants, poppy growers and vested interests are mainly responsible for the miserable conditions of the ordinary Kukis. However, the blame has been successfully diverted to the State Government and the Meetei community.
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The hereditary Kuki Chiefs have challenged the authority of the State Government to declare land in the hill district a ‘Reserve/protected Forest,’ and as per the Kuki tradition, the hereditary Kuki Chiefs are the owners of the land, including the forest. There is a conflict of interest between the institution of hereditary Kuki Chiefs and the State Government, and it is one of the root causes of the present crisis in Manipur.
Most Kuki organisations that directed the activities during the present crisis, such as the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), Indigenous Tribal leaders Forum (ITLF), Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), ETC., are controlled by the hereditary Kuki Chiefs.
The concept of chiefship/rulership with special privileges is incompatible with the principles of democracy, equality, and social justice, and accordingly, it was abolished by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India in 1971. Therefore, the institution of hereditary Chieftainship is undemocratic and unconstitutional.
The undemocratic and unconstitutional hereditary Kuki Chiefs have deployed the helpless ordinary Kukis at their disposal to keep the Kuki and Meetei geographically separated during the present crisis to achieve their political objectives of a separate Union Territory.
The institution of hereditary Chieftainship had been abolished in the places from where the Kuki tribes had migrated. In the Chin Hills region of Burma (Myanmar), it was abolished on 20th February 1948 and in the Lushai Hill District of Assam (now Mizoram) by implementing the “Assam Lushai Hill District (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act 1954.”
With similar objectives, the Bill for the Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967, was introduced in the Manipur Assembly on 07th September 1966 on the recommendation of the then Chief Commissioner Shri Baleshwar Prasad. The Manipur Assembly Standing Committee (now called Hill Areas Committee) agreed in principle to the abolition of Chieftainship in the Hill Areas of Manipur on payment of adequate compensation, and the Bill was passed on 10th January 1967.
The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967, obtained the assent of the President of India on 14th June 1967 and was notified vide the Manipur Gazette (Extraordinary) No 61-E-50 dated 20th June 1967. The said Act remains in force in Manipur even after attaining statehood as promulgated by the Manipur (Adaptation of Laws) Order 1972.
When the said Act was notified, about three hundred Kuki Chiefs held a demonstration against the implementation of the said Act, and the Government of Manipur could not implement the Act. If the said Act had been implemented in time, the Naga-Kuki conflict 1992-94, the Kuki-Paite conflict 1997, and the present crisis might not have occurred. Once the said Act is implemented, the Kuki Chiefs’ special privileges and authorities would be removed, and they can no longer act aggressively against the other communities. There would be equality of power between the Naga and the Kuki Chiefs.
The President Rule was imposed in Manipur on 25th October 1967, and subsequently, all the copies of the Act vanished from the offices of the Government of Manipur. At that time, Shri Thangkhopao Kipgen, the first IAS officer from Manipur belonging to the Kuki community, was the Home Secretary of the State. He was a Kuki nationalist, was the founding secretary of the Kuki National Assembly and the founding president of the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM).
In 1946, the Kuki National Assembly reportedly submitted a memorandum for the creation of Kukiland on the departure of the British. Therefore, the aspiration for Kukiland is about 80 years old and existed long before the present crisis. However, the Socialist Secular Democratic Republic of India will never create an undemocratic Union Territory for “one community ruled by dictators (Kuki Chiefs), where the villagers who disobey the Chiefs can be expelled from the village, and the entire land is owned by about 2% of the population, and the others live on the mercy of their Chiefs.”
When the said Act was discussed in the Manipur Legislative Assembly in 2024, the fact that the clearance for the said Act was accorded by the then Manipur Assembly Standing Committee (now HAC), the assent by the President of India and notification in the Manipur Gazette (Extraordinary) was not known. However, about six months back, Prof. K Yugindro Singh, former Acting Vice Chairman of MU, found a file containing the complete process, from the introduction of the Bill to the notification in the Gazette of Manipur, including the file notes, on the website of the National Archive of India.
The said Act has two main objectives, Viz.
- The abolition of the institution of hereditary Chieftainship, and it is directly related to the present crisis in Manipur.
- Establishment of uniform land law. This objective is highly complex and requires more in-depth studies of the traditional land use systems of various tribes. This objective is recommended to be pursued later, after detailed studies, as it can affect the natural traditional livelihood of many tribes.
The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act 1967 is required to be implemented for the abolition of the unconstitutional special privileges and authorities of the hereditary Kuki Chiefs. However, it would be next to impossible for the Government of Manipur to implement the said Act without the financial assistance from the Government of India (GoI) and the cooperation of the Kuki community. The said Act can only be implemented under the benign and unwavering support of the Union Government.
As per clause 2 of Article 371-C, the Governor of Manipur is ultimately responsible to the President of India for the administration of the Hill Areas, and the Union Government has the executive power to give directives for the administration of the Hill Areas. Therefore, the Union Government can implement the said Act.
If the said Act is implemented, the unconstitutional special privilege and authorities of the hereditary Kuki Chiefs will be abolished. The ordinary Kuki citizens would become owners of land, and they would be lifted above the poverty line. Then, they would be less vulnerable to exploitation by the Chiefs, militants, poppy growers, vested interests, etc. They would also enjoy the freedom provided by the Constitution of India, and they would become happy and peaceful citizens.
Some Kuki Chiefs will also be quite satisfied to get reasonable compensation from the Government of India. It may ultimately break the nexus between some of them, militants, poppy growers, and vested interests, which was also one of the factors which facilitated prolonging the unfortunate crisis.
It is suggested that on implementation of the said act, the land in the Kuki villages be temporarily kept under the administration of their respective Village Authority till the completion of survey and documentation in the individual name of the villagers. The ordinary Kuki citizen would then realise that they have been misguided by instilling the fear psychosis of land alienation to ensure the survival of the institution of the hereditary Kuki Chieftainship.
It is now clear that the hereditary Kuki Chiefs prevented the implementation of the said Act in 1967 to protect their self-interest. Therefore, the people of Manipur should spare no effort to ensure the implementation of the said Act to pave the way for promoting mutual trust and respect between the Meetei and Kukis and ultimately facilitate the safe return of the IDPs to their respective places.
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In conclusion, it is recommended to arrange mass awareness campaigns and non-violent, peaceful movements without disturbing law and order, normal life, educational institutions, etc., by all communities, including ordinary Kuki citizens interested in peaceful co-existence, for the following:
- Immediate implementation of the Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967, by the GoI.
- Promotion of mutual trust and respect between the Meeteis and Kukis.
- Promotion of free and safe movement of Meetei and Kuki. In the first phase, Meetei should facilitate the safe movement of Kukis to RIMS, JNIMS, and Bir Tikendrajit International Airport. Whereas, Kuki should facilitate free and safe movement of Meetei to Dimapur, Jiribam and Moreh through the national highways.
- Promotion of reconciliation and dialogue between the two communities.
- Facilitate safe return of Meetei and Kuki IDPs to their respective places.
(The views expressed are personal. The author is a retired Captain of the Indian Navy. He may be reached at bimollaishram@gmail.com)