This was one of the assurances that the Centre gave three Kuki MLAs, including the Deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen, to join the newly formed government in Manipur headed by Meitei leader Yumnan Khemchand Singh.
Author: Akshita Jain | EQMint | Political news
While a BJP-led government elected in Manipur is getting down to work amid protests from the Kuki-Zo tribes in the hills, the central government is nearing the end of a formal Kuki-Zo peace agreement, The Indian Express has learnt.
According to sources inside the government, such an agreement could resemble the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) agreement signed last week, which grants a degree of autonomy to six districts of Nagaland inhabited by the state’s eight major tribes.
Centre Eyes Greater Autonomy for Manipur Hills
The Centre’s pacification package was never the only reason three Kuki MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, were invited to join the new Manipur government headed by Meitei leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh.
However, the very deal’s completion may be extended as a result of the Assembly elections scheduled for next year, thus allowing the Centre ample time to win over the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley, sources hinted.
According to sources, similar to the FNTA arrangement, the negotiation is at an advanced stage to grant more autonomy, financial authority, and administrative power to Manipur’s hill districts under Article 371C of the Constitution, which is the governing provision for the hill councils in the state. The FNTA has also been constituted under Article 371A, which is the governing provision for the autonomous councils in Nagaland.
Sources at the Centre secretariat revealed that talks are underway for either amending Article 371C or inserting a new chapter that would empower the hill tribes – granting them legislative, administrative, and financial powers, among others – to govern themselves. According to the sources, this proposal will not go as far as the Kuki-Zo demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory, but will satisfy most of their demands for administrative and financial autonomy.
Framework for Kuki–Zo Self-Governance Nears Finalisation
“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 the SoO groups even when Kipgen and other Kuki MLAs were reluctant to join the government. It was also good timing that the FNTA was signed at the same time as the government formation in Manipur. Kuki groups were told that if a deal had been worked out with the ENPO, then a deal with them would also be a reality soon,” a government source stated.
Sources mentioned that the agreement may provide for a certain degree of self-government within the framework of the State Assembly, but with a financial grant corresponding to the population of the hills, taking into account the geographic difficulties of the region. Sources also mentioned that some legislative powers relating to local customs might be correspondingly devolved. Council jurisdiction over land and safeguarding of jobs are also in the discussion, sources pointed out.
“Kuki groups are somewhat accepting of the fact that a separate administration in the form they are demanding may not be viable. But a peace deal that significantly empowers them is totally possible. Actually, a deal was already agreed upon back in 2023, and it would have been signed if there had been no outbreak of violence in the state,” said an MHA official.
Article 371C Falls Short of Nagaland’s 371A Framework
Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that Article 371C provides much less authority to the hill councils compared with Article 371A, which is the basis of Nagaland. While 371A empowers Naga customary law, social/religious practices, land and resources, 371C, mostly through administrative oversight, safeguards the rights of tribal people in Manipur’s hill areas.
Under 371A, the Parliament Acts concerning Naga social/customary law, land and resources are not applicable unless the Nagaland Legislative Assembly passes a resolution. Article 371C does not accord such wide legislative veto power, but rather it is concerned with committee-based oversight.
The law has also been broken down further through the years by the Meitei-majority Assembly in Manipur. The powers authorized in the Article have largely not been transferred to the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the hill areas since Manipur became a state in 1972. As an illustration, powers transferred in the departments such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Science and Technology, Commerce, Industry, Social Welfare etc have as yet been only recommendatory.
Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the ADCs in Manipur had never functioned properly. “It has been such a mess, 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 a government official.
Efforts to introduce amendments either fizzled out, got stuck in the Assembly, or were looked upon as mere changes. Some of the changes that gave more autonomy, which were made through an amendment Bill in the Assembly in 2000, were essentially nullified by another Bill in 2006, according to sources. The amendments introduced in 2008 were considered insufficient a previous Bill was even shelved after protests against the select committee’s recommendations, including the removal of the word ”autonomous”.
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