Kuki-Zo groups welcome PM's likely visit to Manipur, term it 'historic' occasion

Imphal/ Churachandpur, Sep 10 (PTI) Leading Kuki-Zo groups on Wednesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to Manipur on September 13, and termed it as a "historic and rare occasion".

The Kuki-Zo Council, one of the organisations representing the community, claimed that the proposed visit comes nearly four decades after a prime minister last came to the region.

The council also hoped that the PM would address the aspirations of the people belonging to the community.

"The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), on behalf of the entire Kuki-Zo community, warmly welcomes the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our land. This is a historic and rare occasion," said a statement issued by the organisation.

The people of the Kuki-Zo community have endured immeasurable hardships over the past years, it said.

Expressing "faith in the democratic spirit and leadership of India", the organisation claimed that the Kuki Zo people have been seeking a separate administration in the form of a union territory with legislature under Article 239A of the Constitution.

Article 239A of the Constitution allows Parliament to create a local legislature, a council of ministers, or both.

The Kuki-Zo Council hoped that the prime minister would "give due recognition to the voice, pain, and aspirations of Kuki Zo people".

"We place our trust in your leadership to heal our wounds, restore our dignity, and safeguard the future of the Kuki-Zo people," the council said, referring to PM's likely visit.

Several other organisations representing the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur also hailed Modi's likely visit to the state this week, but opposed a planned dance programme as part of a ceremony to welcome him.

The Imphal Hmar Displaced Committee claimed that the PM should interact with those affected in the ethnic violence instead of participating in the welcome ceremony.

Gangte Students Organisation in Churachandpur district also said it would welcome the PM's likely visit, but "we can't dance with tears in our eyes!" "Our mourning is not yet over, our tears are not yet dried, our wounds are not yet healed, we cannot dance with joy," the Imphal Hmar Displaced Committee said in a statement.

Instead of taking part in a grand welcome ceremony, the PM should interact with the displaced people who are lodged at relief camps, it said.

The Churachandpur-based students' organisation, however, claimed that the PM's presence would help the ethnic violence-hit people heal their wounds and express grievances.

Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki community, stressed that the prime minister should be welcomed in the state, but the visit must also "serve justice and recognition of the Kuki-Zo people's collective aspirations".

The organisation claimed that the demand for a political solution remains "clear and firm" and that "temporary relief measures cannot bring a lasting solution".

The PM's likely visit is seen as an opportunity for a section of people in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley to express their hardships.

"The prime minister's presence in the state will offer us a platform to share long-standing grievances and how innocent villagers have been affected by the ethnic strife," said Soibam Reagan, a villager in the Imphal East district.

A women's organisation Imagi Meira said the PM, during his proposed visit to Manipur, should direct officials to allow Meiteis to move along the national highway and to ensure their safety.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.

The Centre had imposed the President's rule in Manipur after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.

The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation. PTI CORR BDC