Kuki-Zo groups have accused authorities of manipulating land records across several hill districts, including Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Chandel and Jiribam, to facilitate non-ST settlements.
PC Bureau
December 17, 2025: The firing incident at Torbung in Manipur’s Churachandpur district two days ago has brought renewed focus to a widening dispute over land, jurisdiction and the resettlement of Meitei internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state’s Scheduled Hill Areas, with Kuki-Zo organisations alleging that attempts to settle non-tribals in protected tribal territories are driving fresh tensions.
Torbung, where gunfire was reported amid heightened local tension, figures prominently in a detailed press release issued on November 27 by the Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas Manipur–Kuki Hills (COPTAM-KH). The organisation had warned of what it described as “illegal resettlement” of non-Scheduled Tribe (ST) Meiteis in constitutionally protected Hill Areas, naming Torbung among several Gazette-recognised hill villages vulnerable to alleged land record manipulation.
Torbung’s Legal Status at the Centre
According to COPTAM-KH, Torbung was transferred to the Churachandpur Hill Areas in 1953 and reaffirmed as a hill village in the 1956 Gazette, placing it firmly within the Scheduled Hill Areas. Kuki-Zo groups argue that this legal status makes Torbung ineligible for any non-tribal resettlement, including rehabilitation of Meitei IDPs, without violating constitutional safeguards.
They contend that the firing incident must be viewed against mounting anxiety among tribal residents over what they see as attempts—administrative or otherwise—to alter the land and demographic character of protected hill villages.
Wider Objections Across Hill Districts
In its November 27 statement, COPTAM-KH expressed “strong and unequivocal objection” to the alleged resettlement of non-ST Meiteis not only in Churachandpur but also in Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Chandel districts and the hill areas of Jiribam. The organisation said such actions amount to grave violations of Article 371C of the Constitution, the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) Order, 1972, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (MLR&LR) Act, 1960, and the Supreme Court’s landmark Samatha judgment of 1997, which bars transfer or settlement of tribal land in favour of non-tribals.
COPTAM-KH listed a series of Gazette-recognised hill villages where it alleged escalating attempts to manipulate land records and forcibly settle non-ST Meiteis. These include Gwaltabi Kuki (Kwantabi), notified as a hill village in 1956; Dolaithabi, within the Satang Kuki (Sadang Colet) tribal jurisdiction; Leitanpokpi, described as historically part of Purum Likli and Y. Langkhong territory but later “manipulated into valley records”; Sugunu (Sugnu), Kangvai, and Moreh, the latter listed under Tengnoupal Circle in the 1956 Gazette and placed under the Tengnoupal Autonomous District Council (ADC) in 1972. The hill areas of Jiribam, with multiple tribal villages documented in the 1956 Gazette, were also cited.
“These villages fall squarely within the Scheduled Hill Areas and cannot, under any circumstance, be resettled or reclassified for non-tribal habitation,” the organisation said.
Alleged Manipulation of Land Records
COPTAM-KH alleged a systematic pattern of illegal practices, including forging or altering tribal land records, assigning valley jurisdiction over hill villages, recording illegal Meitei settlements within tribal lands, and misrepresenting Scheduled Hill villages as valley villages. Such actions, it warned, are particularly incendiary in sensitive areas like Torbung, where historical land status is well documented.
The group cited Section 2(1)(b) of the MLR&LR Act, which explicitly states that nothing in the Act applies to the Hill Areas of Manipur. On this basis, it argued that valley land laws relating to mutation, partition, registration, survey and settlement cannot operate in Hill Areas, and that any land records created by valley authorities for hill land are void and unenforceable.
It further referred to Section 158 of the same Act, which restricts landholding in Hill Areas exclusively to Scheduled Tribes and prohibits any transfer from a tribal to a non-tribal, declaring such transfers null, void and punishable. According to COPTAM-KH, this provision categorically bars non-ST Meiteis from settling, owning, inheriting or possessing land in villages like Torbung.
Jurisdiction and Registration Dispute
The press release also invoked Section 28 of the Registration Act, 1908, stressing that documents relating to immovable property must be registered in the jurisdiction where the land is located. COPTAM-KH maintained that valley sub-registrars in Imphal East or West, Thoubal or Bishnupur have no jurisdiction over Hill Area land, and that any registration of hill land in valley offices is invalid and fraudulent.
Kuki-Zo leaders argue that such alleged administrative overreach has intensified fears among tribal communities and contributed to confrontations such as the Torbung firing.
Samatha Judgment Cited
Central to the organisation’s argument is the Supreme Court’s ruling in Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997), which held that land in Scheduled and tribal areas belongs exclusively to tribal communities and cannot be transferred or allotted to non-tribals, including by the government. The judgment also ruled that manipulation of land records to favour non-tribals is unconstitutional. COPTAM-KH said these principles fully apply to Manipur’s Hill Areas, which are protected under Article 371C and administered through the HAC and ADCs.
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Resettlement of IDPs a Key Flashpoint
The Torbung incident comes as the Manipur government faces pressure to rehabilitate thousands of Meitei families displaced by the ongoing ethnic conflict. While Meitei organisations have repeatedly sought secure return and resettlement of IDPs, Kuki-Zo groups insist that humanitarian measures cannot override constitutional protections governing Hill Areas.
They argue that any resettlement in Scheduled Hill Areas without HAC approval and ADC administration violates the law and risks further escalation. Security forces have reportedly been deployed in and around Torbung following the firing, though official details remain limited.
Demands After the Incident
In its November 27 statement, COPTAM-KH demanded an immediate halt to the alleged resettlement of non-ST Meiteis in Hill Areas, cancellation of all allegedly manipulated land records in Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Chandel, Churachandpur and Jiribam, and an independent investigation by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the Ministry of Home Affairs. It also called for restoration of original Gazette-listed tribal boundaries from 1951, 1953, 1956, 1972, 1974 and 1975, and criminal action against officials and groups accused of tampering with tribal land records.
As tensions remain high after the Torbung firing, the incident has underscored how unresolved questions of land rights, constitutional authority and resettlement continue to pose serious challenges to stability in Manipur’s Hill Areas.
