Kuki-Zo Council Meets MHA, IB Chief, Seeks Faster Political Settlement

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body representing the Kuki-Zo tribes in Manipur, has again approached the Union government, reiterating its long-standing demand for a separate administrative arrangement.

This is the second time this year that the KZC has submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). A KZC delegation met senior officials in New Delhi over the weekend, including the Additional Director in the MHA on Saturday and the Director of the Intelligence Bureau on Monday, as part of its ongoing outreach to the Centre.

Earlier in May 2026, the KZC had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reiterating the same demand. The memorandum argued that the prolonged ethnic conflict had made peaceful coexistence with the Meitei community untenable and urged the Centre to expedite a political solution. It also called for sustained dialogue with Kuki-Zo representatives to arrive at a constitutional settlement.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi after the meetings, KZC leaders sought the Centre's intervention over what they described as “human rights violations”, mentioning the issues of access to healthcare for the people living in the hill districts, disruption of essential supplies, especially in Kangpoki. The council said the latest wave of clashes between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups has further worsened the security situation in the hill districts.

While the ethnic violence in Manipur initially centred on clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities following the outbreak of unrest in May 2023, claiming 217 lives and displacing over 58,800 people, the state's security landscape has witnessed a worrying shift in recent months, with tensions increasingly spilling over into Kuki–Naga relations.

Since April 2026, at least 14 people have been killed, including three Naga civilians in an ambush, three Kuki church leaders, six abducted Naga civilians whose bodies were recovered in June and two Kuki civilians killed in retaliatory attacks. The fresh violence has deepened mistrust between the two communities and raised concerns that Manipur's security crisis is entering another prolonged phase of inter-ethnic conflict.

In its memorandum, the KZC placed five key demands before the Centre. It sought a fair, impartial and time-bound investigation into all recent incidents of violence, including the killing of 14 Kuki-Zo civilians and the burning of Kuki-Zo villages. It also demanded unhindered access to healthcare and the safety of Kuki-Zo patients seeking treatment in public hospitals, the immediate restoration of blocked roads to ensure the uninterrupted supply of food, medicines and fuel, enhanced security for vulnerable villages, and the expediting of meaningful political dialogue to arrive at a "just and lasting political solution" that addresses the aspirations of the Kuki-Zo people.

Speaking at the press conference in New Delhi on Monday, KZC spokesperson Ginza Vualzong alleges that these incidents have resulted in loss of life, destruction of homes, displacement of civilians, disruption of essential supplies and denial of access to healthcare.

Condemning the recent killings, including those of six Naga civilians whose bodies were recovered last month, Vualzong also called for equal application of the law.

"Justice must be equal. No operations are carried out in Naga areas. Kuki church leaders were also killed, but not much attention was paid to that," he alleged.

Since ethnic violence first broke out in Manipur in May 2023, Kuki-Zo organisations have repeatedly engaged the Union government through memoranda and political negotiations, pressing for a separate administrative arrangement. The Council has submitted multiple representations to the Central government, urging it to expedite a political settlement.

However, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People's Front (UPF), the two umbrella bodies representing Kuki armed groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, have held several rounds of negotiations with the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Centre has increasingly treated the SoO groups as its principal interlocutors for negotiations with the Kuki-Zo side. Discussions have largely centred on their demand for a separate administrative arrangement, including the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature. However, the Centre has so far not accepted the demand, and talks remain ongoing.