Latest news with #MeiteiAlliance
NDTV
08-08-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Meitei Alliance, Thadou Tribe Body Call For More Meetings For Peace In Manipur
Imphal: The top umbrella body of Meitei civil society organisations from across the globe has called for frequent meetings of all communities in Manipur to bring understanding, peace and rule of law. The Meitei Alliance in a statement on Friday said the first meeting of Meitei civil society organisations and a delegation of the indigenous distinct Thadou tribe in the state capital Imphal "serves as a meaningful model for inclusive dialogue, accountability, and rule of law." "The Meitei Alliance extends heartfelt appreciation to all the civil society organisations including - COCOMI, AMUCO, FOCS, Arambai Tenggol, various Ima groups, and student bodies - who, despite significant challenges, came together with Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) to organise the historic 'Road to Peace' meeting in Imphal," it said. "This event marks a major milestone in our collective journey toward unity, justice, and lasting peace. By safeguarding the enduring spirit of pluralism, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence that has long defined Manipur's unique social fabric, this initiative reaffirms the rich cultural heritage shared across ethnic lines and the idea of Manipur where communities live together in harmony," the Meitei Alliance said. It appreciated the Thadou Inpi Manipur's consistent stand for preservation and promotion of Manipur as a cohesive, inclusive, and harmonious multi-ethnic society. "Their principled commitment to the peaceful coexistence of all communities of Manipur deserves recognition and appreciation," the Meitei Alliance said, adding it hopes the event will serve as a foundation for many more such much-needed initiatives in the days ahead. The Thadou Students' Association (TSA) has also expressed "wholehearted support for the historic covenant of understanding between the Thadou and Meitei communities on August 6, 2025 by the warm reception of the Thadou people in Imphal." "This moment is more than symbolic, it is a landmark achievement in the long and painful journey toward truth, recognition, and indigenous solidarity in Manipur," the TSA-GHQ said in a statement. The TSA more importantly drew attention to what it called "misindentification" of their position amid the Manipur crisis. "... Our position was misunderstood and misrepresented, both by sections of the Meitei and those people identifying as Kuki in the state. It is important to highlight that there is currently no operational TSA unit in Manipur, owing to threats and intimidation by Kuki supremacist groups," the TSA-GHQ said. TSA Support Thadou-Meitei Covenant of Understanding and Indigenous Unity in Manipur MEDIA RELEASE Friday, August 8, 2025 The Thadou Students' Association (TSA) extends its sincere appreciation and wholehearted support for the historic covenant of understanding between the... — Thadou Students' Association (@TSA_GHQ) August 8, 2025 "The TSA office at Taloulong was forcibly closed by the village chief on May 2, 2023, a day before the outbreak of conflict, due to his anti-Meitei position and opposition to engagement with the state government. Further, on September 28, 2023, the Kuki militants, directly threatened our TSA Sadar Hills leaders with violence, explicitly forbidding them from attending the 66th TSA General Assembly in Guwahati. These acts reflect the grave suppression and persecution faced by the Thadou community from armed Kuki groups and the systematic effort to silence our student body and leadership," the TSA-GHQ said. "Today, however, marks a turning point. The Meitei community, through Manipur CSOs, student organisations, Ema groups and other civil society leaders, has recognised our pain, understood our distinct Thadou identity that Thadou is not Kuki, and welcomed us back with respect. This act of goodwill and mutual understanding is deeply appreciated by TSA and the entire Thadou community. We thank the Manipur CSOs and Meitei people for their wisdom and courage to distinguish truth from propaganda," it said.
NDTV
01-08-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Obstructing Governance": Meitei Alliance Asks Manipur Governor Not To Renew Deal With Kuki Militants
Imphal: The controversial tripartite agreement signed between two dozen Kuki insurgent groups and the Centre and the Manipur government should not be extended due to blatant violation of ground rules by the armed groups, a global body of civil society organisations of the Meitei community has said in a representation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla. The Meitei Alliance - a conglomeration of 24 civil society organisations globally - in the letter to Mr Bhalla acknowledged the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement was originally intended to reduce violence and aid in peace-building. The SoO agreement has, however, "not only failed to deliver on these objectives but have also become a source of lawlessness, parallel authority, and systemic abuse across the state", the Meitei Alliance said. It cited a report by NDTV on alleged looting of highway-widening compensation funds by one of the SoO agreement signatories, Kuki National Front (KNF), in Manipur's Kangpokpi district. Many beneficiaries of the rehabilitation and resettlement funds sent by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) to the competent authority (land acquisition) had alleged the KNF - whose home turf is Kangpokpi - siphoned off a large amount meant for those who lost their land or structures or both. "This investigation exposes how groups under the protection of SoO have extended their influence into public institutions and resource distribution, thereby obstructing both governance and economic development," the Meitei Alliance said in the representation to the governor. "... Multiple compensation credits were allegedly routed to individuals connected to SoO-protected armed groups; the entire process lacked transparency and accountability, undermining the rule of law and public trust," the Meitei Alliance said. The KNF refuted the allegations, calling them "utterly baseless and motivated accusations aimed at maligning our organisation". It did not, however, seek an investigation into the allegations or a forensic audit of the accounts of the alleged middlemen. At least 12 village chiefs/chairmen have also said they object to "erroneous and misleading manner in which our legitimate and specific issues have been lumped together with unconnected and unverified allegations". They denied villagers were coerced into signing blank documents under intimidation by the finance secretary of the armed group, Jangboi Kipgen. The village chiefs/chairmen, too, did not seek an investigation by any enforcement agency. None of the eight alleged middlemen has come on record to explain the multiple credits into their bank accounts worth crores of rupees. There could be other suspicious entries that only a proper forensic audit may be able to detect, a top banking source had told NDTV. Requesting the governor not to renew the SoO agreement, the Meitei Alliance cited three reasons why the agreement is doing more harm than good to Manipur - constitutional breach of state authority, public distrust and breakdown of governance, and social and communal fragmentation. The Manipur assembly on February 29, 2024 - the day the SoO agreement lapsed - unanimously passed a resolution asking the Centre to scrap the deal with Kuki insurgents, which broadly tells them to stay in designated camps with weapons kept in locked storage, among other ground rules. "Law and order is a state subject, and the continuation of SoO agreements - without accountability or consent from the elected state government - erodes constitutional federalism," the Meitei Alliance said. The President's rule in Manipur which came into effect in February following the resignation of N Biren Singh as chief minister has been extended for another six months. The assembly has been placed under suspended animation, meaning the assembly is active but cannot function temporarily. "The SoO framework has enabled the ethnic militarisation of civil society, obstructing the return to normalcy and inclusive peace across communities in Manipur," the Meitei Alliance said in the representation to Mr Bhalla. The 25 Kuki, Zomi and Hmar insurgent groups come under two umbrella organisations for the purpose of negotiations - the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) led by the Kuki National Army (KNA), and the United People's Front (UPF) led by the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA). The KNO and the UPF representing all the others have signed the SoO agreement. The KNF comes under the KNO. In June, a KNA insurgent was among three people arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly attacking a police post and killing two commandos in Manipur's border town Moreh in January 2024. That was the second time an authority confirmed on record the violation of SoO ground rules by Kuki insurgents in Manipur in the last two years since Meitei-Kuki ethnic clashes began in May 2023. The first official confirmation of the SoO agreement's ground rules violation came from the Manipur Police in September 2024 when three Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) insurgents - all of them residents of Churachandpur district - were killed in a gunfight in Jiribam. They were Seiminlen Khongsai, Haogoulen Doungel (31), and Nehboithang Haokip (26). The Manipur Police in September 2024 also for the first time confirmed the involvement of Meitei insurgent group UNLF (P), which had signed a ceasefire with the Centre and the state, after a UNLF (P) insurgent identified as Baspatimayum Lakhi Kumar Sharma (41) was killed in the Jiribam gunfight. The NIA's June 8, 2025 statement and the Manipur Police's September 8, 2024 statement showed that insurgent groups in Manipur that have signed the SoO agreement have been involved in the Manipur violence. While the authorities have confirmed only two cases of SoO agreement and ceasefire violations in the last two years, both Meitei and Kuki civil society groups accuse each other of hiding the involvement of insurgents belonging to their respective communities in dozens of cases.
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Tribal ministry urged to delete 'Any Kuki Tribes' category from Manipur's ST list
Two Manipur-based organisations have urged the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to delete the 'Any Kuki Tribes' category from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list in the state as it allegedly allows "foreigners to claim rights" of the indigenous people and "poses a threat to their land and resources". In a memorandum to the ministry, the two organisations - Thadou Inpi manipur and Meitei Alliance - stated that "the appeal aligns with the official position of the Government of Manipur, which, following cabinet decisions on October 19, 2018 and January 2, 2023, formally recommended the deletion of 'Any Kuki Tribes' category. "The vague nature of 'Any Kuki tribes' (AKT) allows foreigners to claim tribal rights in Manipur. This poses a serious threat to land, resources, and constitutional privileges of pre-existing scheduled tribes," the two organisations claimed in the memorandum. They also alleged, "AKT has no unique language, separate cultural heritage, and geographical isolation, all of which are the basic criteria for Scheduled Tribe recognition under Article 342 of the Constitution of India. It fails every benchmark and only serves to sow ethnic discord and legal confusion." The two organisations also claimed that the category 'Any Kuki tribes' was inserted into the Scheduled Tribes list of Manipur in 2003 through "politically motivated and non-transparent means". Live Events "Unlike any of the Scheduled Tribes of Manipur that are linguistically and culturally distinct, AKT is an ambiguous and arbitrary insertion without a legitimate basis. AKT is not accepted or recognised by any of the Scheduled Tribes of its existence has only exacerbated ethnic tension and undermined social harmony," the memorandum said.
NDTV
07-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Primary Instigators Of Violence": Meitei Alliance Asks Centre To Scrap Ceasefire With Kuki Insurgents
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. The Meitei Alliance urged the Centre to scrap the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki insurgents, alleging their role in the Manipur violence. They claim these groups exploited the agreement for terrorism, extortion, and illegal activities. Imphal: A global umbrella body of civil society organisations of Manipur's Meitei community has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to scrap an agreement signed with insurgent groups of the Kuki tribes over allegations that they have been involved in the Manipur ethnic violence. The request by the Meitei Alliance comes amid speculation that a formal announcement on the status of the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement in Manipur is expected to come. However, a meeting in neighbouring Assam's Guwahati on June 5 had no link with the SoO agreement in Manipur. The Manipur assembly unanimously passed a resolution asking the Centre to scrap the SoO agreement on February 29, 2024, the same day the deadline for extension of the SoO agreement ended. "These armed groups, which have been the primary instigators and escalators of violence in Manipur since May 3, 2023, have used the SoO as a cover to pursue a vested agenda," the Meitei Alliance said in a statement. "Since the initiation of the SoO agreement in 2008, these militant groups had exploited the arrangement as a shield for engaging in acts of terror... They committed repeated and blatant violations of the SoO ground rules, amounting to terrorism," the Meitei Alliance alleged. Some of these violations, the Meitei Alliance said, include extortions and illegal 'highway tax', recruitment of insurgents, and nexus with other insurgent groups in Myanmar and Manipur, among others. "These armed groups have been the primary instigators and escalators of violence in Manipur since May 3, 2023 and have used the SoO [agreement] as a cover to pursue a vested agenda, that directly or indirectly contributed to infiltration into Indian soil by large-scale illegal immigrants from Myanmar..." the Meitei Alliance said in the strongly worded statement. The Manipur Police for the first time confirmed in September 2024 the involvement of insurgents who are part of the SoO agreement in the ethnic violence. The police also, for the first time, confirmed the involvement of the Meitei insurgent group UNLF (P), which had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre and the state, in the ethnic violence. Three insurgents of the SoO agreement-signatory Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) and one from the United National Liberation Front (Pambei) were killed in a gunfight in Jiribam district in September 2024, the police had said. Under the SoO agreement, the insurgents are to stay at designated camps and their weapons kept in locked storage, to be monitored jointly with the authorities. Over 260 have been killed and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced in the Manipur violence.
NDTV
02-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Restore Peace, Security And Constitutional Order In Manipur": Meitei Alliance
Imphal: An influential global umbrella body of Manipur's Meitei community today appealed to the central government to take immediate and decisive action to end the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki militant groups and take firm steps to end terrorism. The statement came as the state entered a second year of living under immense hardships after the outbreak of ethnic violence between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes on May 3, 2023. Recalling how the violence began two years ago to this day, the Meitei Alliance alleged armed aggression from Kuki militant groups funded by drug money carried out strategically orchestrated attacks to disrupt communal harmony and coerce the Manipur government into stopping its actions against cross-border drug trafficking, illegal opium poppy cultivation, encroachments on protected forest lands, and illegal immigration from Myanmar. "Since then, Manipur has endured sustained unrest, severely affecting peace, security, and normal life across the state... Despite assuming control over the state's law and order situation, the central government's delayed and inadequate response allowed Kuki militants - operating under the SoO agreement - to carry out coordinated attacks against Meitei civilians," the Meitei Alliance said in the statement. "The subsequent establishment of buffer zones by central forces, ostensibly to prevent further violence, inadvertently facilitated the creation of de facto enclaves that have since served as launchpads for continued terrorist operations targeting civilians," it said. The Meitei Alliance put forward seven points of actions that it suggested the Centre should consider taking up. One of the points stressed on intensifying the war on drugs campaign, including the complete eradication of illegal opium poppy cultivation. It sought carrying out the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise to detect foreigners. "Identify and deport illegal migrants from neighbouring countries. Dismantle artificial buffer zones and ensure unrestricted movement of all citizens across the state," the Meitei Alliance said. The Centre's order to ensure free movement across Manipur failed after the Kuki tribes protested against the decision. "The people of Manipur continue to suffer under the weight of prolonged violence and uncertainty. It is time for the government to act with resolve and ensure that the fundamental rights, safety, and dignity of every citizen are restored and protected," the Meitei Alliance said. The Meitei Alliance is one of the two organisations - the other is a key civil body of the indigenous distinct tribe Thadou - that met for the first time on a common platform and for a common goal since the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur in May 2023. The Meitei Alliance and the Thadou Inpi Manipur on March 8 called the development a "significant and historic moment". The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.
