Kuki State Demand Committee to launch agitation soon

IMPHAL, Aug 5: The Telangana effect is fast affecting the North East India region and in Manipur it is the Kuki Statehood Demand Committee (KSDC) that is likely to resort to agitation any day. Interacting with few media persons today, KSDC leaders said they may announce within the next few days its course of agitation.KSDC leaders rued that they have been resorting to democratic forms of agitation in the past few years but the government has chosen to turn deaf ears on the matter. The KSDC leaders then said the Kukis have been demanding the separate statehood since 1960 and had appraised the matter to the then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. “Even after 50 years of our movement, the government of India has not acknowledged our sentiment,” the KSDC leaders expressed their regrets. The KSDC has been demanding from both the state and the Central Governments to start peace parleys with two umbrella Kuki armed groups—The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF)—which are signatories to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) involving both the Central and state Governments. On July 8, while recalling its movement, the Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) had said that it was revived on November 2, 2010 based on the political movement of the Kuki National Assembly (KNA) for creation of Kuki State in the present day Manipur (First memorandum was submitted in 1960 to the then Prime Minister of India Late PT Jawaharlal Nehru). Before the advent of the British colonialists in the soil of the Kukis, the Kukis governed themselves under chiefs in their territories without outside inference in their affairs. Since the merged of the Kuki territories with Kangleipak (Manipur) without the consent of the Kukis which added their suffering increases day in and day out, the KSDC said.KSDC has been leading the mass movement for separate Kuki State within the Constitution of India as Kukis are denied of their rights for life, security and development and peaceful governance of their affairs in their ancestral land even after India got independence and the attainment of statehood by Manipur. Another factor has been the denial of Sadar Hills as full-fledged district as it is dominated by the Kukis is tantamount to denial of development of the Kukis.”The Government failed to address the governance of the tribals under Sixth scheduled which is a constitutional rights; the disparity/negligence of development in Kuki areas; the policy of the Government of alienating and annexation of tribal land through state mechanism; interference of the Government and its machineries in the affaire - de of the Kukis; the Government denied the rights of the tribals in Government employment by alienating the reservation policy; rendering the Hill Area Committee non-functional which is a breach of the privileges’ of the tribals; denial of proportionate representation in the state assembly between the tribals and non- tribals.etc etc., are also some other factors that have prompted us to start this movement,” the KSDC had stated. The Kukis in present day Manipur is left with pamper and has no future for political as well as administration, it had lamented.”The KSDC therefore had led the Kuki people for their political survival leading to mass rally since its inception in 2010 followed by general strikes, public blockade, economic blockade etc.as the Government had failed to address the vexed Kuki political issue,” KSDC had said on July 8. ”In 2012, the patience of the Kuki people was beyond control that led to the boycotting of ASEAN-INDIA car rally. As a face saving measure, the government of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA ) had sent a letter assuring the Kuki people that the political dialogue with Kuki underground groups would begin after the Winter session of the Parliament. Taking into confidence, the KSDC had decided to suspend the boycott but nothing concrete steps have been taken by the government of India and that had prompted the KSDC to blockade the BCIM car rally. The Government in spite of addressing the issue unleashed their might by manhandling the peaceful demonstrators at various places in Imphal-Jiribam Road (NH-2) and imposition of curfew under Crpc 144 in Imphal-Moreh Road. It was ashamed for the government as the car rally was welcomed with placards and blackwin-flags at various places which exposed the hollowness of Indian democracy,” the KSDC had recalled earlier. The KSDC will continue the movement till the political solution for the Kukis in the form of Kuki State is attained/achieved, the KDSC affirmed.