Naga groups urge PM to act against illegal Myanmar migration in Manipur

Imphal: Indigenous groups have urged the Prime Minister of India to take urgent action against the alarming, unchecked, and illegal migration from neighbouring Myanmar into Manipur, which threatens the indigenous population and demographic balance.

"Manipur, in recent years, has witnessed a growing influx of illegal migrants, both from the war-torn country of Myanmar and from neighbouring Indian states where the NRC exercise is being implemented,” the memorandum stated.

Indigenous Naga groups, the Rongmei Naga Council, Liangmai Naga Council, Zeme Naga Council, and Inpui Naga Union, submitted the memorandum to the Prime Minister.

These Naga sub-tribes are primarily based in Tamenglong, Noney, and Kangpokpi districts.

It adds, “This continuous inflow has strained local resources and now poses a serious threat to the cultural identity, economic stability, and traditional livelihoods of native indigenous communities in Manipur.”

“The situation is particularly critical along the major highways, where new settlements have mushroomed unchecked,” it said. “These infiltrators survive through illegal taxation of commercial vehicles plying on National Highways and by engaging in widespread poppy cultivation on land belonging to the indigenous Naga people.”

The new settlements are reportedly linked to mass deforestation for illicit, large-scale poppy cultivation under the protection of several well-armed militant groups.

Without naming the Kuki-Zo community, the memorandum further states, “They now claim ancestral Naga lands as their own and demand a separate administration. Roads are being constructed without the consent of the indigenous people to connect their settlements via inter-village routes that pass through Naga villages; some of these routes have even been renamed after their militant leaders, and unauthorised check gates have been installed near Naga villages, restricting movement.”

Regarding the number of elected legislators in the sixty-member Manipur Legislative Assembly, the Naga body noted that the number of Kuki legislators has grown from one in 1952-57 to ten in 2025, while Naga legislators increased from seven MLAs in 1952-57 to ten in 2025.

It also stated that the Kuki population of Manipur grew from 79,919 in 1951 to 448,214 in 2011, an overall growth of about 460.7% over six decades.