Kuki Inpi Manipur welcomes Centre’s High-Level Committee on demographic changes, calls for evidence-based study on Manipur’s demographic issues.
Imphal, May 29: Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex traditional and political body of the Kuki people, has welcomed the Government of India’s decision to constitute a High-Level Committee on demographic changes, calling it a long-awaited step towards establishing “truth, justice and historical accuracy”.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, KIM said it viewed the formation of the committee as an opportunity to address what it described as “persistent falsehoods” surrounding demographic narratives in Manipur and other border states.
The organisation stated that the committee, headed by a retired judge and comprising experts, should conduct a transparent and evidence-based study into demographic shifts across the country, particularly in sensitive border regions such as Manipur.\
KIM expressed confidence that the committee would examine the demographic impact faced by the Kuki-Zo community due to repeated displacement and violence over several decades.
The statement said the Kuki-Zo community would fully cooperate with the committee and place before it “census records, displacement figures and historical accounts” relating to demographic changes experienced by the community.
According to KIM, the Kuki-Zo people have faced “repeated, large-scale displacements and ethnic cleansing” over the years, which have affected population distribution, ancestral villages, land ownership and livelihoods.
The organisation referred to the Naga movement from the 1950s, violence linked to NSCN-IM during the 1990s, and the ongoing conflict since 2023 as factors that led to displacement and demographic changes among Kuki-Zo communities.
KIM alleged that narratives relating to “illegal immigration” involving Kuki-Zo people were “fabricated” and politically motivated.
The statement claimed that such allegations had been used to discredit the political aspirations of the Kuki-Zo community and justify violence and displacement.
“We firmly believe that any genuine, evidence-based study will categorically debunk the malicious and fabricated narratives of illegal immigration,” the organisation stated.
KIM further said the formation of the committee offered the Government of India an opportunity to distinguish “fact from fiction” regarding demographic issues in the state.
The organisation urged the committee to examine all relevant data “without bias” so that its findings could contribute towards recognition of what it described as the “inalienable political rights” of the Kuki-Zo people and protection of their ancestral lands.
The statement also called for an “honourable political settlement” to ensure the security, dignity and future of the Kuki-Zo community within the Indian Union.
KIM reiterated its commitment to peace, constitutional processes and national integrity while asserting that it would continue opposing what it termed as fabricated narratives against the community.
“The time for truth has come,” the statement added.
The Centre’s proposed High-Level Committee on demographic changes has generated significant reactions from different organisations and stakeholders in Manipur amid ongoing debates surrounding population changes, migration and ethnic tensions in the state.
