Daijiworld Media Network - Imphal

Imphal, Nov 8: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has turned down the Kuki-Zo community’s demand for the creation of Union Territories with Legislatures in Manipur, according to tribal organisations that attended recent peace talks in New Delhi.

Representatives of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF), both umbrella bodies of Kuki-Zo armed groups under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact, met MHA officials on November 6–7. The discussions focused primarily on their long-standing demand for separate administrative status in the wake of ongoing ethnic tensions in Manipur.

In a joint statement, the KNO and UPF said A.K. Mishra, Adviser for the Northeast at the MHA, conveyed that while the Centre was “sensitive to the Kuki-Zo people’s suffering,” it had no current policy to create new Union Territories. He also underscored the need for consultations with all communities before any structural change in Manipur’s governance.

The Kuki-Zo delegation urged the government to reconsider, arguing that the Constitution permits such measures when coexistence becomes untenable — as they claim it has between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups since the May 2023 violence.

Talks also reviewed implementation of the September 4, 2025, tripartite agreement among the MHA, the Manipur government, and the SoO groups. The pact includes relocating seven designated camps, shifting weapons to CRPF and BSF facilities, and verifying cadres to identify foreign nationals.

The SoO, first signed in 2008, involves 23 Kuki-Zo militant outfits with over 2,200 cadres housed in designated camps.

Manipur has remained under President’s Rule since February 13, following Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation amid ongoing ethnic violence that has killed over 260 people, injured more than 1,500, and displaced around 70,000 since May 2023.