Agencies, Imphal, April 4: In a significant development, leading organisations of the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities will participate in a tripartite meeting with officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi on Saturday, officials and community leaders confirmed on Friday.
Saturday’s meeting will mark the first such dialogue since ethnic violence broke out nearly 23 months ago between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities, sparked by the Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
While Manipur government officials confirmed the meeting would take place in the national capital, they declined to disclose the agenda of the talks.
Community leaders stated that A.K. Mishra, MHA Advisor for the Northeast region, had extended invitations to both Meitei and Kuki-Zo leaders for the meeting. Mishra had previously held separate meetings with various organisations from both communities in Manipur last month.
A similar attempt by the MHA last year to hold a tripartite dialogue failed when tribal organisations (Kuki-Zo) refused to engage with Meitei leaders.
On January 17 this year, a four-member delegation of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) — a conglomerate of 13 tribal organisations — met senior MHA officials in Delhi to discuss their demands and the prevailing situation in the northeastern state. The delegation was led by KZC Chairman Henlianthang Thanglet and included a meeting with both A.K. Mishra and MHA Joint Director Rajesh Kamble. However, neither side disclosed details of the discussions.
The KZC and 10 tribal MLAs have been pressing for a separate administration, equivalent to a Union Territory, for Kuki-Zo-Hmar-dominated areas.
Meanwhile, Meitei organisations have been demanding strict action against armed militants, cross-border infiltration from Myanmar, the growing drug menace, and the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Since ethnic clashes began on May 3, 2023, over 250 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured. The violence has also displaced over 60,000 people, who continue to live in relief camps across different districts of Manipur for the past 23 months.
