Edited By Sangeeta Das
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh
announced the formation of an all-tribe committee to determine whether the Chin
Kuki community will remain on the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list of the State.
This decision comes following a letter
from the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry, requesting the State Government’s views
on the demand for removing the ‘nomadic Chin Kuki’ community from Manipur’s ST
list. The demand, made by Maheshwar Thounaojam of the Republican Party of India
(Athawale), claimed that Chin Kukis are immigrants and not indigenous people of
Bharat.
Singh emphasized the need to re-examine
how the Chin Kuki community was included in the ST list of Manipur. He stated before
making any comments, a committee, consisting of members from all tribes in the State,
will be formed to provide recommendations. The Manipur Government will then
send its views on the matter based on the committee’s recommendations.
The term “Kuki” represents various
tribes in Manipur, and “Chin” is one of them. The Chin community shares ethnic
ties with the Mizos of Mizoram and a section of residents in neighbouring
Myanmar.
