Kuki-Zo Community Blocks Meitei Pilgrims in Manipur

Imphal: Hundreds of Kuki-Zo community members gathered at the Thangjing Hill in Manipur’s Churachandpur and staged demonstrations on Sunday to prevent Meiteis from undertaking their annual pilgrimage to the “sacred site”, officials said.

The agitators reached the hill in vehicles from various parts to hold a sit-in, they said.

On Saturday, several Kuki-Zo civil society organisations “warned” the Meitei community against climbing the Thangjing Hill, stating that any such attempt “will be opposed tooth and nail”.

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The Thangjing Hill is considered a sacred site for Meiteis, who visit it in April.

“There is speculation that the Meitei community intends to cross the buffer zone for Chinga Kaba at Thangting Hill in the month of April. No political settlement has been reached between the Government of India and the Kuki-Zo community, and without such an agreement, the Meitei community has no jurisdiction to enter Kuki-Zo land,” six Kuki-Zo groups had said in a statement.

“Whoever attempts to cross the buffer zone shall be considered a direct challenge to the Kuki-Zo community, and any untoward incidents that occur during such attempts shall be solely the responsibility of those who undertake them,” it added.

The buffer zone, which is heavily guarded by security forces, separates the Meitei-controlled Imphal Valley and the Kuki-dominated hill districts.

Security has also been heightened at many places in Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts, including Moirang and Phougakchai Ikhai, as a precautionary measure, the officials said.

Meanwhile, the Meitei Heritage Society in a statement said that the “Indian State must decide if the rule of law should prevail and whether the constitutional rights of its citizens should be safeguarded”.

Threatening Meiteis to skip the pilgrimage to Thangjing Hill is “unconstitutional and blatant violation of freedom of free movement and right to religious practices”, it said.

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