Manipur Crisis: Most Neglected Root Causes

DURING the Naga-Kuki Clash (1992 -94) and the Kuki-Paite Clash (1997-98), about 1000 people were killed, 350 villages were uprooted, and over 50,000 people were displaced. Further, during the ongoing Meitei-Kuki clash since May 3, 2023 and the Naga-Kuki clash since February 2026, about 280 people were killed, over 58,000 others displaced, and over 10,500 houses were completely or partially destroyed. The people of Manipur have been subjected to untold miseries due to repeated cycles of ethnic clashes, and the Kukis are the common factor in all the above ethnic clashes.

During the Kuki Rebellion (1917-19), Kukis carried out several brutal raids; 289 people, including women and children, mostly Nagas, were killed in the most barbarous manner, 21 others were taken into captivity, and 34 villages were burned. These atrocities generated widespread fear, displaced many people, and compelled authorities to establish concentration camps to shelter terrified Nagas.

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In the last century, the Kuki elite have advanced significantly, overtaking the Nagas and the Meiteis. Many Kukis now occupy senior positions in the Government and private undertakings, and two from the community are serving as ambassadors of the country.

However, during the present crisis, the Kukis displayed the same brutality and barbarity as in the last century, despite the community’s social and economic advancement. This is mainly due to the Kuki community’s adherence to the centuries-old institution of hereditary Kuki Chieftainship, which was designed to protect Kuki villages from rival tribes. Hence, it is critically essential to abolish the institution of hereditary KukiChieftainship to prevent repeated cycles of violence and bring lasting peace for the following reasons:

• Aggressiveness: From ancient times, each Kuki village has maintained a village army, and the Kuki Chief is the Commander–in–Chief of the village army. Since the other ethnic communities don’t maintain a village army in democratic India, the Kuki Chiefs have acted aggressively with impunity towards the other communities.
• Conflict of Interest: The hereditary Kuki Chiefs have challenged the State Government’s authority to declare land in the hill district a ‘Reserve/Protected Forest.’ According to 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.
• Undemocratic Supreme Authority of Kuki Chiefs. The hereditary Kuki Chiefs are the kings of the villages under their jurisdiction, holding a monopoly of military, executive, legislative, and legal authority.Unlike the Naga Chiefs, the Kuki Chiefs do not fully comply with the provisions of the Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956. They can overrule the advice of the village council and elders.Therefore, the Kuki Chiefs do not follow democratic principles. The hereditary Kuki Chief’s word is the law within his chiefdom, and his decision is final. Villagers who disobey him are severely punished or expelled.
• Shelter Illegal Immigrants. Most Kuki Chiefs’ sons have become village chiefs by establishing new villages.They can allot the land in the village to outsiders, including illegal migrants. The increase in the number of villages in the Kuki-dominated hill districts, as 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 Meitei-dominated districts together (The data of Jiribam District is not included). The drastic increase in the number of villages in the Kuki-dominated districts would not have been possible without the additional population of illegal immigrants.
• Elite Kuki Chiefs. The Kuki Chiefs’ Association was formed in 1935 by the educated elite, mostly retired government officials. The Kuki Chiefs and their children have progressed significantly over the last century. They claim ownership of the entire village land, including the forest. As a result, only about 2% of the community own all the land, while ordinary Kukis don’t own any land. The Naga Chiefs don’t claim ownership of the entire village land, and individuals or the village community own these lands. The Nagas enjoy the right to inherit and occupy land. Individuals have land tenure and can sell it to anyone in the village.
• Ordinary Kukis. Most ordinary Kuki citizens remain below the poverty line (60%, compared with the state average of 37% in 2011). Unlike their kin tribes in Mizoram, the ordinary Kukis of Manipurare landless and poor.They are highly vulnerable to exploitation by the Kuki Chiefs, militants, poppy growers, and vested interests. They are the source of the workforce for the poppy growers and provide fertile ground for the recruitment of militants.
• Vulnerability of Ordinary Kukis. Ordinary Kuki citizens are highly vulnerable to misinformation and propaganda. Their sentiments have been relentlessly whipped up for many years through false propaganda of discontent and hatred. They have now developed a fear psychosis about land alienation and believe that every policy and action of the State Government is against their interests and targeted at their community.
• Exploitation of Ordinary Kukis.The ordinary Kukis survive by cultivating the land allotted to them by their Chiefs and live at their Chiefs’ mercy. The undemocratichereditary Kuki Chiefs, the Kuki militants, and vested interests have deployed the helpless ordinary Kukis at their disposal to keep the Kuki, Naga and Meitei geographically separated during the present crisis to achieve their political objective of a separate Union Territory.

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• The Kukis of Manipur migrated from the Chin State Region of Burma (Myanmar) and the Lushai Hill District of Assam (Mizoram). In the Chin State Region of Burma, the hereditary Chieftainship was abolished with the adoption of a democratic form of government on 20th February 1948. In the Lushai Hill District of Assam, the hereditary Chieftainship was abolished by implementing “The Lushai Hill District of Assam (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act 1954, as amended in 1955,” and the administration of Land and Land Revenue was transferred to the District Council. On completion of the survey, the land was documented in the name of individual villagers.

The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967, received 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. When the said Act was notified, about 300 Kuki Chiefs held a demonstration against its implementation, and the Government of Manipur sidelined the Act. If the said Act had been implemented in time, the Naga-Kuki conflict 1992-94, the Kuki-Paite conflict 1997-78, and the present crisis might not have occurred.

The hereditary Kuki Chiefs, militants, poppy growers, and vested interests are primarily responsible for the deplorable economic conditions faced by ordinary Kukis. However, the blame has been successfully diverted by false propaganda to the State Government and the Meitei community. This is the strategy for the survival of the Kuki Chieftainship institution.

The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967, has two main objectives, viz.,

1. Abolition of the hereditary Chieftainship: It is urgently essential to abolish the institution of the hereditary Kuki Chieftainship to prevent repeated cycles of violence.
3. Establishment of uniform land law throughout Manipur: This objectiverequires more in-depth studies of the traditional land use systems of various tribes andmay be pursued separately later, after detailed studies, as it can affect the natural, traditional livelihoods of many tribes.

In July 2025, the Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU) submitted a memorandum to the President, PM, MHA, Governor, and Chief Secretary of Manipur, among others, urging the implementation of the said Act and the abolition of hereditary chieftainship. Based on the memorandum, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes issued a notice to the Government of Manipur on 20th May 2026, requesting the submission of facts and information on the action taken to implement the said Act.

On 04th March 2024, the former Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, stated on the floor of the State Assembly that the Government would enforce an Act passed in 1967 to abolish hereditary Chieftainship. The BJP MLA, RK Imo Singh, posted on “X” that the Government of Manipur would take “appropriate steps” to enforce a law that would end the system of hereditary Chieftainship in the hill areas of the state (Manipur look at one last step to end hereditary Chieftainship, TSE 07.03.24).

Given the current political situation in Manipur and the many grave, pressing issues, the Government may wish to implement the said Act only after peace and normalcy are restored. However, it is pertinent to note that repeated cycles of violence can’t be prevented without abolishing the institution of Kuki chieftainship, and the present crisis would not have occurred if the said Act had been implemented in time.

The Government of Manipur should, therefore, take up the implementation of “The Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967” at the forthcoming State Assembly in September 2026, and initiate appropriate measures, including issuing the necessary amendments and a gazette notification for the implementation of the said Act, and abolish the institution of hereditary Chieftainship.

(The article was first published in The Sangai Express on 19th August 2026. The views expressed are personal. The author is a retired Captain of the Indian Navy. Email ID: bimollaishram@gmail.com.)