Centre rules out Kuki-Zo groups’ U.T. demand

For Preliminary Examination:  Current events of national and international Significance

For Mains Examination: GS II - Indian Polity

Context:

Kuki-Zo insurgent groups in Manipur on Saturday said that they held talks with the Union Home Ministry this week, “focusing on the core demand for a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly” for Kuki-Zo areas, insisting that “coexistence” within the State was not possible. This comes just two months after the groups signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the Union and State governments.

Read about:

Kuki - Zomi Tribe

Kuki Insurgency

Key takeaways:

• The Kuki-Zo community refers to a cluster of ethnic groups that inhabit the hilly regions of Northeast India, primarily in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and parts of Assam and Tripura, as well as across the borders in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
• The term “Kuki-Zo” is a collective identity that encompasses various subgroups who share similar languages, cultural practices, and ancestral origins, but who also maintain distinct clan identities and historical experiences.
• The roots of the Kuki-Zo people trace back to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo ethnic family, which is part of the larger Tibeto-Burman linguistic group. Historically, these groups migrated from the Chin Hills of Myanmar into the Indian subcontinent over several centuries. As they settled in different areas, they developed localized identities, dialects, and traditional governance systems.
• The differences between the Kuki and Zo (or Zomi) communities are largely political, historical, and territorial rather than ethnic in the strict sense. Linguistically and culturally, they share close affinities—such as similar traditional dress, clan systems, festivals, and customs. However, colonial and post-colonial administrative boundaries, along with differing political movements, have accentuated divisions among them.
• During the British colonial period, the term “Kuki” was used as an administrative label to categorize several hill tribes of Manipur and adjoining regions. It became a unifying yet externally imposed identity.
• On the other hand, “Zo” (also written as “Zomi” or “Zo people”) emerged as a self-chosen ethnonym derived from “Zo,” believed to be the name of a common ancestor or region. Many who identify as Zomi or Zo people consider themselves part of a larger transnational family that includes the Chins of Myanmar and the Mizos of Mizoram, emphasizing ethnic unity beyond colonial labels.
• In Manipur, these distinctions have taken on sharper political meanings. The Kukis generally align themselves with organizations that emphasize recognition as a Scheduled Tribe within India and seek greater administrative autonomy within Manipur’s existing framework.
• The Zomis, in contrast, often advocate for a broader unification of Zo-speaking groups across India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh under the idea of “Zogam,” a homeland concept representing the cultural and political unity of all Zo people.
• Religious and social life among both groups is predominantly Christian, a legacy of 19th and 20th-century missionary activity, and their societal structures revolve around clan loyalty and village-based governance.
• Despite internal differences, both communities share a sense of historical marginalization and collective struggle for identity and political recognition within the Indian Union.
• In contemporary times, tensions between these related groups—exacerbated by competition for resources, political representation, and territorial claims—sometimes overshadow their shared heritage.
• Yet, scholars and community leaders often stress that the Kuki-Zo divide is more a matter of nomenclature and political mobilization than deep-rooted ethnic disunity, as both trace their lineage to a common origin and maintain intertwined histories and cultures

Follow Up Question

Mains