Manipur: Cabinet recommends Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council be declared as 'unlawful organisation'

Guwahati: The Manipur state cabinet in an emergency meeting on Tuesday (October 31) decided to recommend the declaration of the World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) as an unlawful association/organization under section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

An FIR had already been lodged against the organisation on Monday, noted the cabinet.

The decision came in response to an October 24, 2023 statement of WKZIC calling upon the Kuki-Zo community that during this November, before the harvesting season, the community will face another war and so arms and ammunition should therefore be sufficient.

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The council further informed that the youth volunteers would be the ones going to face the war on the frontlines and that its national army and the underground groups would join the youth volunteers only in critical situations, citing that this would be because the Kuki National Army and underground groups would not be able to join the war freely in view of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.

The statement further informed that its national volunteers shall be equipped with the best arms and if required ammunition will be supplied without limit.

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Taking serious note of the WKZIC statement, the Youth of Manipur (YOM), an influential body consisting of youth, in a release earlier, had asked what action the government of Manipur took against the said council.

YOM statement also pointed out that the government had on October 11 and 17 this year issued different notifications, advising people to refrain from making provocative statements, which can create tension between the people, disturb the state's unity and integrity, and pose a threat to internal and national security.

In a June 29, 2023 memo submitted to the secretary general of the United Nations, the WKZIC requested the creation of a Kuki state in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, Mizoram in India and the Kuki hills in outer Manipur.

When Manipur merged with India, the tribal chiefs and their territories were not covered under the 'Manipur Merger Agreement,' the memo mentioned, adding that the Manipur government encroached on tribal lands under the guise of protecting reserved forests, protected forests and wildlife sanctuaries and curbing poppy plantation, while also misusing the MLR&LR Acts, 1975 to grab indigenous tribal lands.