The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF), the conglomerate body of Kuki-Zo militant groups, now eye the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature within the Constitution of India for the Kuki-Zo people, even as they have dropped the idea and demand for the creation of a separate administration by bifurcating Manipur.
While upholding the constitutional sanctity of territorial integrity, they said, “Any territorial reconfiguration must be initiated and ratified by Parliament, not through executive overreach or judicial misinterpretation,” adding that unilateral administrative assertions by a particular state to alter boundaries go against the Indian Constitution, which provides a clear framework under Articles 1, 3, and 368 for any territorial reconfiguration.
“KNO and UPF will uphold the people’s aspiration in the future course of political dialogue for the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature for the Kuki-Zo people within the Constitution of India,” the groups stated in a joint press release.
The KNO and UPF issued the statement to the Kuki-Zo people today, after controversies arose within various other Kuki communities, including the Kuki Village Volunteers Coordinating Committee (VVCC) and Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), regarding the movement and embargo of NH-2. The VVCC rejected the unilateral idea of opening highways without consulting them and the public, who have borne the brunt of violence.
The press communique added that KNO and UPF reiterate this gesture must not be misinterpreted as an endorsement of unrestricted movement across buffer zones between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas. The sanctity of these zones remains paramount, and the responsibility for securing the highway lies with the Government of India and its deployed forces.
