Imphal: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched investigations into at least three Kuki militant organizations and one Zomi militant group suspected of fomenting trouble in Manipur’s northeastern state. This investigation is being conducted on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is concerned that these organizations are scheming to form an independent Chin-Kuki-Zomi state carved out of Manipur, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
The order to initiate this investigation was issued in July, and the NIA has been rigorously investigating the linkages between these militant organisations and the current bloodshed in Manipur since then. The Kuki National Army (KNA), Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), Kuki National Front (Nehlun faction), and United Kuki Liberation Army are the militant organizations under investigation.
It should be noted that the KNA and ZRA were formerly subject to a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with the government. For several years, the MHA had been in contact with their political representatives. Initially, these talks were intended to secure a peace agreement with tribal people in Manipur’s mountainous highlands. However, negotiations have shifted back to restoring normalcy in the state and pursuing a political solution to the protracted issue since May. The involvement of the NIA in examining their operations could put tremendous pressure on these organizations.
Similarly, the NIA has earlier brought terror funding investigations against the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), even as the Indian government signed a Framework Agreement with the group for continued negotiations toward a Naga peace accord.
Notably, the Manipur state government chose to withdraw from the SoO agreements with the KNA and ZRA in March, more than a month before the outbreak of unrest in Manipur. The national government, however, did not follow suit.
According to sources, the MHA notified the NIA that these organizations were receiving help from Myanmar’s People’s Defence Force (PDF). Since the 2021 coup, the PDF has been aggressively battling Myanmar’s military dictatorship.
“It has been learned that some Manipur-based Kuki militant groups are receiving funds from Chin-Kuki-Zo groups in Myanmar to orchestrate violence in the Imphal Valley,” an official source said. They have been ordered to obtain guns and ammunition, which are being acquired from Myanmar and other Northeastern states. Their purpose appears to be to establish a distinct Chin-Kuki-Zo state by claiming Manipur, Bangladesh, and Burma.
Furthermore, it is said that these groups are training locals, with armed operators deployed to the foothills to target those in the Valley. According to MHA communications, they have also been targeting security forces with sniper assaults.
N Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, raised alarm about a cross-border plot, saying, “The current situation isn’t a dispute between two communities.” The assessment of the NIA, our country’s foremost investigative agency, makes it very evident that external forces are at work. If it hadn’t been for their intervention, the current problem would have ended.”
The Kuki National Army is the military component of the Kuki National Organisation, a prominent political institution in Manipur that represents the Kuki community. Meanwhile, the Zomi Revolutionary Army, created in 1997, is an armed rebel organisation that promotes Zomi nationalist goals.
The NIA’s ongoing probe into these terrorist organizations is expected to provide further light on the issue and aid in resolving Manipur’s growing tensions.
