Centre Rejects Demand for Separate Administration in Kuki-Dominated Areas of Manipur<\/p>\n
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Guwahati: The central government has turned down the demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory for Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur, a key condition set by Kuki-Zo organizations to resolve the ongoing conflict with the Meiteis.<\/p>\n
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According to sources in an influential Kuki-Zo organization, the decision was conveyed by A.K. Mishra, the Centre\u2019s interlocutor and advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the Northeast. Mishra communicated Home Minister Amit Shah\u2019s stance during a meeting on March 11 in Churachandpur. The same message was later relayed to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla in New Delhi. The announcement comes ahead of Shah\u2019s visit to Assam and Mizoram on March 15 and 16.<\/p>\n
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The rejection of the demand has caused unrest among Kuki-Zo groups, who have been pushing for a separate administration and opposing the Centre\u2019s decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR). The FMR previously allowed ethnic communities along the India-Myanmar border to travel freely without documents.<\/p>\n
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As part of efforts to end the ongoing conflict, which has claimed over 260 lives since May 2023, the Centre shared a “blueprint” for peace with Kuki representatives on Monday. The development follows the blockade of NH-2 and NH-37 by Kuki groups since March 8, in protest against the Centre\u2019s directive to restore unrestricted movement on roads from that date.<\/p>\n
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The rejection of the separate administration demand is expected to spark further tensions, as 10 Kuki MLAs and insurgent groups under a suspension of operations (SoO) agreement have maintained that Kukis cannot remain under the Manipur government, which they claim is dominated by the Meitei community. The Centre had imposed President\u2019s Rule in Manipur on February 13, shortly after Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned amid pressure from NDA allies. However, Meitei MLAs and organizations have strongly opposed the Kuki demand, urging the Centre to categorically dismiss it and take action against Kuki insurgent groups to restore peace.<\/p>\n
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Push for ‘Referendum’ on Separate Administration<\/p>\n
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Following the Centre\u2019s rejection, Kuki groups have intensified discussions on holding a “referendum” to determine their political future. An awareness campaign is underway to mobilize support for the plebiscite, with references to the 1951 Naga Plebiscite, which played a key role in the creation of Nagaland.<\/p>\n
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“The government of India may reject our referendum, but once it is documented, the world will see the truth of our struggle,” read a message being circulated as part of the campaign. Supporters argue that a vote on whether to remain under Manipur or seek Union Territory status would be a decisive step in their movement.<\/p>\n
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The situation remains tense as both Kuki and Meitei groups hold firm on their positions, raising concerns about further escalation in the region.<\/p>\n
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Source:\u00a0https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/india\/manipur\/centre-rejects-separate-admin-demand-by-kukis-in-manipur-groups-plan-referendum-3445638#google_vignette<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Centre Rejects Demand for Separate Administration in Kuki-Dominated Areas of Manipur Guwahati: The central government has turned down the demand for a separate administration in the form of a … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inn","category-state","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9173,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344\/revisions\/9173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}