After rally, Kuki-Zos stick to union territory demand

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has reiterated the demand for a union territory for Kuki-Zo tribes in Manipur.

Insisting that it would be difficult for the Kuki-Zos to coexist with the non-tribal Meiteis, the KZC also warned against resettling the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) belonging to the Meitei community in the “buffer zone” or close to Kuki-Zo areas.

Buffer zone refers to a narrow strip of land, more than a kilometre wide in certain stretches, separating the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley and the surrounding hills inhabited by the Kuki-Zos.

In a memorandum to Home Minister Amit Shah, submitted through the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur district after a “mass rally” on Wednesday (January 14, 2026), the KZC apprised him of the “grave, prolonged, and unresolved concerns confronting our people in Manipur today”.

It said these issues were existential in nature, demanding urgent constitutional and political intervention by the Centre.

The KZC said the ethnic conflict that broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, left more than 250 Kuki-Zos dead, 7,000 destroyed, 360 places of worship desecrated or vandalised, and more than 40,000 people displaced, mostly driven out of Imphal Valley.

“It is widely perceived and documented that elements of the State government machinery were complicit in, or failed to prevent, these atrocities. Under such circumstances, there exists no scope whatsoever for the Kuki-Zo people to continue under the same administration,” the KZC said.

“For nearly three years, the Kuki-Zo people have been unable to access the Imphal Valley, leading to severe humanitarian, economic, medical and administrative hardships. Our demand for a union territory with legislature is well within the ambit of the Constitution of India,” it said, urging Mr. Shah to expedite a political solution to ensure lasting peace, dignity and security for Kuki-Zos.

The KZC also drew the Home Minister’s attention to the “highly sensitive and dangerous issue of resettling Meitei IDPs in buffer zone areas, which poses a serious threat to peace and risks reigniting ethnic violence”.

It said such actions had been viewed as direct provocations and carry a high potential for renewed conflict. “The buffer zone was instituted precisely to prevent confrontation and bloodshed. Any violation, dilution, or selective enforcement of this arrangement undermines public confidence, weakens law and order and threatens the fragile peace,” it added.

The KZC further sought action against “encroachments due to incorrect district and police jurisdiction boundaries” and attempts to halt construction and development of inter-village roads in the Kuki-Zo areas, apart from protecting Kuki-Zo land and properties in Imphal Valley.