Suspected KNA cadres among 11 militants held in Manipur; police clear roadblocks, seize arms

Sub: Geo

Sec: Mapping India

Context:

In the past two days, security forces in Manipur have arrested 11 militants, including seven suspected members of the Kuki National Army (KNA), and seized arms and ammunition.
These KNA cadres were apprehended in the Churachandpur district.

Background:

The ethnic violence in Manipur, which erupted in May 2023, led to intense clashes between the majority Meitei community in the Imphal Valley and the Kuki-Zo tribal groups in the surrounding hills.
The violence was triggered by the Manipur High Court’s direction to the State to pursue a 10-year-old recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the non-tribal Meitei community.
This violence resulted in more than 250 deaths and displaced thousands of people.
Recently, President’s Rule was imposed in the state, and the State Assembly was placed under suspended animation, following the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.

Kuki National Army:

The Kuki National Army (KNA) is an insurgent group primarily based in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur.
It represents the Kuki ethnic community, a tribal group that has historically been involved in conflicts related to their political and territorial aspirations.
The KNA’s demands typically include greater autonomy for the Kuki people, protection of their rights, and political recognition. The group is involved in armed resistance against both the Indian state and other ethnic groups in the region.
The KNA is part of the broader Kuki National Organization (KNO), an umbrella organization of various Kuki insurgent groups that has sought autonomy for the Kuki people.

Agreement for peace:

The KNA is a signatory of a Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact signed in 2008 among the United Peoples’ Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) – an umbrella of 24 insurgent groups, the Union Home Ministry and the Manipur government.
This pact aimed to cease hostilities in exchange for peace talks and some degree of autonomy.
However, the Manipur government withdrew from this agreement in March 2023.

About Kuki Tribe:

The Kuki people are an ethnic group in the northeastern India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh
The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are kindred tribes of the Kukis. Collectively, they are termed the Zo people.

A Kuki homeland:

The demand for a separate “Kukiland” dates back to the late 1980s, when the first and largest of the Kuki-Zomi insurgent groups, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), came into being.
In 2012, Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) announced a movement for Kukiland.
The territory of the proposed “Kukiland” include the Sadar Hills (which surround the Imphal valley on three sides), the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district, Chandel, which has a mix of Kuki and Naga populations, and even parts of Naga-dominated Tamenglong and Ukhrul.