Northeast Desk, 11th October: The Zomi Council Steering Committee (ZCSC) has issued a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for a distinct administration in the Kuki-dominated regions of Manipur.
The ZCSC expressed concerns about efforts by various Meitei civil society organizations and the Manipur Government to favor Meitei interests while neglecting historical facts. The memorandum highlighted a representation by the Ojha Sanajaoba Memorial Trust (OSMT) and criticized their demand for inserting protective clauses under Article 3 and amending Article 371C (1) & (2) of the Indian Constitution as narrow-minded and communal.
The memorandum emphasized the need to recognize that the tribal people, especially the Zo community, were never entirely integrated with Manipur and Meitei society at any point in history. It referred to historical treaties, such as the Treaty of Sanjenthong and the Treaty of Kaparang, signed between Zo Ukpipa Sumkam and Maharaja Chandrakirti in 1873, which treated both parties as equal partners and acknowledged the independent existence of the Meitei Maharaja and Zo King (Ukpipa) up to British colonial times.
Furthermore, the ZCSC outlined the formation of present-day Manipur through the delineation of hill lands from Burma, Naga Hills, Chin Hills, and Lushai Hills by British colonial authorities for administrative convenience. They stated that these changes led to the creation of Manipur as it is today.
The memorandum also urged the Meitei community and the state Government to acknowledge their inability to establish emotional integration with the hill tribes within 76 years of coexistence under the state of Manipur. It questioned the meaning of efforts to maintain geographical integration, highlighting the ongoing unrest in Manipur as evidence.
The ZCSC argued that provisions like the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971, and Article 371C of the Constitution, designed for tribal areas, have been manipulated by the Manipur Government to serve Meitei interests.
Given the clear separation between Zo ethnic tribes and the Meitei community, the ZCSC’s memorandum called for separate administration within the Indian Union. They appealed for expeditious political discussions with the United Peoples’ Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organization (KNO) to achieve a sustainable solution, such as a Union Territory with a Legislature, for the Zo people.