Imphal, June 23: A joint memorandum submitted to the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, the Thadou Inpi Manipur and the Meitei Alliance have called for the immediate deletion of ‘Any Kuki Tribes’ (AKT) from the Scheduled Tribes list of Manipur, terming it a matter of “urgent and serious concern.”
The memorandum, aligned with the official position of the Manipur government, refers to cabinet decisions taken on October 19, 2018, and January 2, 2023, and a formal recommendation sent to the Ministry on February 8, 2023, seeking the removal of AKT from the ST list under Article 342 of the Constitution of India.
The organisations argue that the inclusion of AKT in 2003 was politically motivated, arbitrary, and lacked both constitutional and ethnographic legitimacy. According to them, the term “Any Kuki Tribes” was a colonial-era grouping used temporarily between 1951 and 1956. After proper surveys, the 1956 SC/ST Amendment Act removed such umbrella terms and identified 29 specific Scheduled Tribes in Manipur. The re-insertion of AKT in 2003, they allege, violated this settled framework.
They further claim that the AKT category has led to duplication of recognized tribes, particularly the Thadou, and has not been accepted by native communities like the Thadou, Paite, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom, Aimol, and others. The memorandum stresses that AKT is not a distinct tribe but a vague and expandable label, which could be misused by foreigners or illegal immigrants to claim tribal rights.
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The organisations expressed concern that clans and surnames such as Haokip, Doungel, Kipgen, and Sitlhou, sub-clans within recognized tribes like Thadou, are being wrongly placed under AKT, leading to confusion and legal loopholes.
They also warned that AKT opens up unlimited scope for abuse, with fabricated tribal identities emerging through vague suffixes, including “Rohingya-Kuki” or “Kachin-Kuki,” which they fear could undermine demographic integrity and tribal rights.
The memorandum concludes with a clear demand: the removal of AKT from the ST list without renaming or replacing it with another variant such as “Kuki Tribe.” They assert that ‘Kuki’ is not a tribe, a language, or a cultural identity, but rather a politicised umbrella term.
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“Inclusion of AKT is constitutionally flawed, ethnographically invalid, and a potential threat to peaceful co-existence,” the memorandum states.
Both groups reiterated that deletion of AKT is necessary to preserve the legal and cultural sanctity of the Scheduled Tribe list and to prevent further communal tension, identity fraud, and illegal benefit claims.