In a statement issued on Saturday, a KLA spokesperson said the Kuki people’s demand for a separate administration stems from centuries of customary governance and resistance, not political opportunism.
BY PC Bureau
November 2, 2025: The Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) has sharply rebutted recent remarks by Lieutenant General (Retd.) V.S. Atem, Deputy Ato Kilonser of the NSCN-IM, terming his statement on the Kuki people’s demand for a separate administration as “simplistic and historically misleading.”
In a statement, KLA spokesperson Jalaimang Kuki said Atem’s claim that the Kuki-Zo people’s demand was confined to Churachandpur “misrepresents the very foundation of our struggle for justice and self-determination.”
“The Kuki people’s aspiration for a separate administration extends far beyond Churachandpur. It is rooted in our ancestral rights, territorial continuity, and centuries of governance by Kuki chiefs. To reduce this to a single district narrative is a deliberate distortion of historical truth,” Letkholun said.
Historical Roots of the Demand
The KLA clarified that the Kuki people’s demand for a separate administration predates the formation of Manipur as a political entity. Prior to Manipur’s merger with India in 1949, the Kuki chieftaincies functioned as autonomous self-governing systems covering vast tracts of present-day Churachandpur, Kangpokpi (Sadar Hills), Tengnoupal (Chandel), and parts of Senapati and Ukhrul districts.
“These were not lands bestowed by any modern government but territories governed, cultivated, and defended by our chiefs long before the British annexation,” the statement said, recalling the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919, which he described as “a historic assertion of Kuki sovereignty and resistance to colonial oppression.”
Jalaimang added that the arbitrary amalgamation of Kuki lands into Manipur without consultation violated both “the spirit of self-determination and the integrity of Kuki ancestral domains.”
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Territorial Integrity and Ethnic Self-Determination
Rejecting Atem’s claim as “politically motivated,” the KLA said the demand for a separate Kuki administration arises not from secessionist intent but from a need for equitable governance and protection of indigenous identity.
Archival and statutory records, the statement said, “affirm that Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal are historically Kuki territories, continuously inhabited and governed under our customary laws.”
“This movement is not about exclusion—it is about survival and recognition. To confine our claim to Churachandpur is to erase our collective memory and lived geography,” he asserted.
Recalling the Ethnic Cleansing of 1992–93
The KLA’s statement also revisited the ethnic violence of 1992–93, alleging that the NSCN-IM carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing that displaced thousands of Kuki families and led to the destruction of hundreds of villages across Ukhrul, Senapati, and Tamenglong districts.
“These atrocities permanently altered the demography of our homeland,” the statement read. “To discuss land and administration without acknowledging this injustice is to perpetuate the silence of the dispossessed.”
JUST IN: VS Atem Dy Ato Kilonser of NSCN-IM dropping truth bombs, asking pertinent questions about kukis in & around Manipur pic.twitter.com/5W7CYvC5NA
— Tomba 🐉 (@nongshaBytes) October 29, 2025
Call for Reciprocal Dialogue
While reaffirming its territorial claims, the KLA emphasized openness to “reciprocal and respectful dialogue” with other stakeholders.
“In the spirit of coexistence, we are even open to considering the inclusion of certain Tangkhul-inhabited areas within a Kuki administrative framework, provided there is mutual recognition of ancestral rights,” the statement said.
However, he warned that such goodwill “must not be mistaken for weakness.”
“We will not tolerate any attempt to usurp or dilute our territorial rights in Ukhrul, Mao, or Senapati,” he added.
Appeal for Justice and Recognition
The KLA urged the Government of India, the NSCN-IM, and Meitei leadership to engage in a historically informed and inclusive dialogue that acknowledges colonial-era injustices and recent ethnic violence.
“The path to peace lies not in rhetorical simplifications but in justice and recognition,” the statement concluded. “For the Kuki people, our ancestral lands are not negotiable—they are the core of our identity and existence. Any durable peace in Manipur must begin by acknowledging that truth.”
