'Kuki-Zo Council Not Legitimate, Can't Operate In Our Areas': Zomi Council

A Zomi tribes' organisation in Manipur's Churachandpur has told the recently formed Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) not to operate in areas where the Zomi tribes are in majority.

The Zomi Council (ZC) on Tuesday said it does not recognise the legitimacy of the term "Kuki-Zo".

"It has learnt that certain authorities in the central government have invited a particular civil society organisation from the Manipur hills to surreptitiously discuss the issue of reopening national highways for free access," the Zomi Council said in the statement.

"Any discussion in this regard must involve the participation of the Zomi Council and its affiliated bodies, without which any arrangement would be considered obsolete and untenable," the influential body of the Zomi tribes said.

The Zomi Council said it had already in May 2024 rejected the use of the words "Kuki-Zo" as a legitimate identity. The new grouping "Kuki-Zo" started appearing in the press after the Manipur violence broke out in May 2023.

The Zomi Council said "any organisation bearing the name Kuki-Zo Council stands rejected and is unwelcome in all Zomi-inhabited areas, particularly within Churachandpur district and Lamka township."

It told the KZC to set up its office only in areas where they are accepted.

The Zomi Council will always stand with its nine constituent tribes and shall continue to work tirelessly to safeguard their security, dignity and well-being, the Zomi tribes' organisation said.

In August 2024, three MLAs from among the 10 who had been demanding a separate administration carved out of Manipur had clarified they want their own tribes to be called by their correct names, instead of being associated only with the term "Kuki-Zo".

The three MLAs said the term "Kuki-Zo" was not adequate to refer to their own tribes. The three MLAs from the Hmar, Paite, and Vaiphei tribes were LM Khaute, Ngursanglur Sanate, and Vungzagin Valte.

"... I would like to reaffirm that the most suitable and inclusive term to describe our community in the media, social media and so on is 'Kuki-Zomi-Hmar... I cannot accept anything that excludes 'Zomi' and any other term that describes our identity in such press statements," Mr Khaute said in a statement.

Mr Sanate said he will not endorse any platform, organisation or statement that excludes the term "Hmar" tribe.

The third MLA, Mr Valte, in a strongly worded statement said it has become "pivotal" for him to declare that he is from the Paite tribe belonging to the Zomi community, that Zomi is an accepted nomenclature as it reflects the "true historical, culture, and social identity of our people."

The three MLAs' statements came days after a section of the Thadou tribes represented by the Manipur-based Thadou Students' Association (TSA) formed a global platform to look into critical issues facing the community, particularly in Manipur.

The TSA has said Thadou is a distinct tribe and people with their own distinct identity, language and culture.

"... At some point other people may have called Thadous with different names... that does not change the fact that we are Thadou and we should be called Thadou respectfully," the TSA said in a statement in August 2024.