‘No side is happy’: Why Centre’s new pact with Kuki-Zo armed groups has left Manipur unenthused

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur on September 13 – over two years after a civil war broke out in the state – the Centre signed a crucial ceasefire agreement with two armed Kuki-Zo groups.

The Suspension of Operations or SoO agreement, which had lapsed in February 2024, was renewed on September 3.

The agreement comes in the backdrop of fierce ethnic conflict between the majority Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribes since May 2023, which has partitioned the state on ethnic lines.

The new pact includes “re-negotiated terms and conditions or ground rules”. It reiterates “the territorial integrity of Manipur” and “relocation of designated camps away from vulnerable areas”. The groups agreed to stringent physical verification of cadres by security forces and de-list foreign nationals if they were found to be members of the group.

The Union home ministry, in its statement on the pact, also declared that the Kuki-Zo Council, which represents the Kuki people, has “decided to open the National Highway 02 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods”.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party has praised both developments as a breakthrough for the strife-torn state, several members of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar community have expressed disappointment at the pact. The Kuki-Zo council shot out a clarification...

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