Zomi group demands withdrawal of ‘illegal’ Manipur govt notification on land registration

Churachandpur (Manipur), Sep 21 (PTI) The Zomi Chiefs Association (ZCA) on Sunday criticised a Manipur government notification seeking a centralised land registration system across the state, and demanded its repeal, alleging that the rule is unconstitutional and a direct assault on tribal rights.

In a statement, the ZCA alleged that the Meiteis managed to acquire land in hill areas, though they “falsely claimed” they had been barred from the tribal majority region.

“Through systematic incursions and manipulations after Independence, large tracts of our land - particularly in areas bordering the valley districts - have already been merged without our consent,” the statement read.

Mentioning several registration rules over several years, it alleged that the plan was to centralise all land registration in Imphal and systematically strip the tribal peoples of their constitutional safeguards.

“The ZCA demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of this Notification and calls upon all to oppose its application in the Hills. These repeated assaults leave us with no choice but to reiterate our long-standing demand: a Union Territory with legislature for the Zo people of Manipur, the only arrangement that can safeguard our constitutional rights and ancestral lands,” it said.

In the September 18 notification, the Manipur government has also prohibited registration of deeds for the transfer of land from indigenous people to outsiders, according to a notification.

Posters were found in various places of Churachandpur, where Kuki-Zo people are in the majority, demanding a solution to the ethnic problem since Saturday.

"Secure our lives, and save our future", “Separation only solution", and "No solution, no rest" were written on the posters.

Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023 has left over 260 people dead and thousands homeless in Manipur. The state is under the President’s Rule. PTI COR NN