Kuki Outfits Ask Meitei to Not Cross Buffer Zone For Annual New year Event

New Delhi: In a fresh instance of tension between the Meitei and Kuki communities in strife-torn Manipur, six Kuki tribal organisations on Wednesday (April) asked Meitei not to cross the “buffer zone” for an annual event.

Cheirao Ching Kaba is an annual event to climb the Thangjing Hill as a part of the celebration for Cheiraoba, the Meitei New Year that starts mid-April, reported The Hindu.

The “buffer zone” is a narrow strip that separates the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley from the low hills, which are mostly inhabited by the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribes.

“Unless and until a political settlement is reached by the government of India for the Kuki-Zo-Hmar community under the Constitution of India, no such friendly approach to the jurisdiction of Kuki-Zo-Hmar land would be allowed for the Meitei community,” said a joint statement by the Kuki organisations including the Kuki Students’ Organisation.

The Kuki organisations added that any effort to cross the “buffer zone” will be “opposed tooth and nail.”

The hill houses a shrine that Meiteis consider sacred and ancient.  Back in January 2024, the shrine was in the news when a large cross was installed at the spot. According to the state government, the Thangjing Hill range falls within the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forests.

Confrontations between the minority Zo ethnic tribes (Zomi-Kuki-Mizo) and the majority Meitei community over land rights and influence in the region have claimed over 250 lives from both the communities including women and children – even infants – highlighting the escalating crisis in Manipur.

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