Twenty-nine Naga village chiefs have written a complaint to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes alleging forgery of their signatures in a rejoinder submitted to the commission on Manipur separate administration.
On Wednesday, ITLF general secretary Muan Tombing had stated that they will set up a “self government” if its demands are not addressed in two weeks – “whether the central government recognises it or not”.
In a significant development, a frontal organisation of the Kuki tribes in Manipur has claimed they are ready to establish a "self-governed separate administration" in areas dominated by them, "whether the centre recognises it or not".
The top Naga body in Manipur has strongly objected to the Kuki-Zo tribes' demand for a separate administration or arrangement as it includes two districts that the Nagas had opposed when they were created in 2016.
Amid the Meitei demands for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and Kukis seeking a separate administration for the Manipur hills, it has become important to understand when exactly the Manipur kingdom was established, whether Manipur kings ruled the hill areas, and when the Kukis migrated to Manipur.