Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur said on Saturday that they held talks with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs this week, reiterating their “core demand for a Union Territory with a legislative assembly” for Kuki-Zo areas, The Hindu reported.

They added that “coexistence” within Manipur was no longer possible, the newspaper reported.

The talks, held on Thursday and Friday in New Delhi, were attended by representatives of the home ministry led by North East Advisor AK Mishra, and leaders of the Kuki National Organisation and the United People’s Front.

The Kuki National Organisation and the United People’s Front are the two umbrella bodies of Kuki groups that are signatories to the Suspension of Operations agreement which was renewed in September. Under the agreement, the security forces as well as the militant groups are prohibited from launching operations.

Manipur has been embroiled in ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities that have killed at least 260 persons and displaced more than 59,000 persons since May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024. President’s Rule was imposed in February after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.

On Saturday, the two bodies said in a joint statement that Mishra told them that while the Union government was “sensitive to the plight of the Kuki-Zo people”, its “current policy does not support creation of new Union Territories”, the Deccan Herald reported.

Mishra also said that there is a need for consultations with other communities in Manipur, the groups said.

“The…delegation urged the Centre to reconsider its position in view of the fact that the Constitution is above government policy,” the Deccan Herald quoted the statement as saying.

The groups have maintained that the creation of a separate administrative arrangement in the form of a Union Territory is the way forward to end the conflict in Manipur.

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