As an elected BJP-led government gets to work in Manipur amid protests from Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribes in the hills, the Centre is at an advanced stage of finalising a Kuki-Zo peace deal, The Indian Express has learnt.
According to sources within the government, this deal could be on the lines of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) deal signed last week with the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO), granting a degree of autonomy to six districts of Nagaland populated by eight major tribes of the state.
In fact, this was one of the assurances from the Centre which nudged three Kuki MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, to join the newly formed government in Manipur under the leadership of Meitei leader Yumnan Khemchand Singh.
Sources, however, indicated that the finalisation of the deal may be pushed beyond the Assembly elections, scheduled for next year, giving enough time to the Centre to get Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley on board.
Sources said that on the lines of the FNTA, negotiations are on to grant more autonomy, financial authority and administrative power to the hill districts of Manipur under Article 371C of the Constitution, which governs hill councils in the state. The FNTA, too, has been carved out under Article 371A that governs autonomous councils in Nagaland.
According to highly placed sources at the Centre, negotiations are on to either amend Article 371C or to add a fresh chapter granting authority to hill tribes — ranging from legislative to administrative and financial powers — to administer themselves. This will fall short of the Kuki-Zo demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory, but will meet most of their demands for administrative and financial autonomy, sources said.
“There is more or less an understanding as to what is feasible. The details are being worked out through talks with SoO (Suspension of Operations) groups and a deal will be signed in due course. This was communicated to SoO groups even when Kipgen and other Kuki MLAs were showing reluctance to join the government. It helped that the FNTA was signed around the time of government formation in Manipur. Kuki groups were told that just as a deal had been worked out with the ENPO, a deal with them would also be a reality soon,” said a government source.
Sources said the deal could include provision for self-governance within the framework of the State Assembly, but with a financial devolution proportionate to the population of the hills and keeping in mind the geographical challenges of the region. Some legislative powers dealing with local customs may also be devolved, sources said. Council jurisdiction over land and protection of jobs are also part of the talks, sources said.
“There is a degree of acceptance among Kuki groups that a separate administration in the form that they are demanding would not be possible. But a significantly empowering peace deal is (possible). In fact, a deal had been worked out way back in 2023 and would have been signed had violence not broken out in the state,” an MHA official said.
It is important to note, however, that Article 371C grants far less powers to hill councils than Article 371A which governs Nagaland. While 371A protects Naga customary law, social/ religious practices, land and resources, 371C safeguards the interests of tribal people in Manipur’s hill areas, primarily through administrative oversight.
Under 371A, Parliament Acts regarding Naga social/ customary law, land and resources do not apply unless the Nagaland Legislative Assembly passes a resolution. Article 371C does not grant such broad legislative veto power, focusing instead on committee-based oversight.
The law has been further weakened by the Meitei-dominated Assembly in Manipur over the years. The many powers enshrined in the Article were not devolved to the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the hill areas since Manipur became a state in 1972. For example, powers devolved in departments such Agriculture, Horticulture, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Science and Technology, Commerce, Industry, Social Welfare etc have remained recommendatory in nature.
Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the ADCs in Manipur never functioned properly. “It has been so haphazard and the budgetary allocation by the state has been so poor at times that some ADCs have not even been able to pay salaries. For all practical purposes, ADCs in Manipur are non-functional,” said an official.
Attempts to bring amendments either fizzled out, were stalled in the Assembly or were regarded as cosmetic. Some changes for greater autonomy brought in through an amendment Bill in the Assembly in 2000 were effectively revoked by another Bill in 2006, said sources. Amendments brought in 2008 were found to be inadequate — an earlier Bill was even withdrawn following protests over the select committee’s recommendations, including removal of the word “autonomous”.
