{"id":170966,"date":"2025-03-15T15:52:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T10:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=170966"},"modified":"2025-03-15T16:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T11:52:09","slug":"christian-dominated-kuki-community-in-manipur-mulls-referendum-for-ut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2025\/03\/15\/christian-dominated-kuki-community-in-manipur-mulls-referendum-for-ut.html","title":{"rendered":"Christian-dominated Kuki community in Manipur mulls referendum for UT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-170967\" src=\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/03\/hq720-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"686\" height=\"386\" \/>Imphal: Following failed talks with the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) delegation, various Christian dominated Kuki groups in Manipur are now contemplating a referendum to determine their political future \u2013 whether to push for a Union Territory or remain a part of the state of Manipur.<\/p>\n<p>According to Kashmir Media Service, if this referendum proceeds, it would mark the second time in Northeast India\u2019s history that a community has voted on its political status. The first was the Naga National Council&#8217;s (NNC) plebiscite on May 16, 1951, which sought to decide the \u201csovereignty of the Naga people.\u201d Despite 99.9% of the vote favoring an independent Naga nation, New Delhi rejected the outcome. Over a decade later, Nagaland became a state in 1963, but the issue of sovereignty remains unresolved.<\/p>\n<p>A Kuki-Zo leader shared, \u201cCurrently, we\u2019re raising awareness about the referendum idea, and the Kuki-Zo Council will address it soon.\u201d He pointed out that media reports have stated the Indian government has rejected the Kuki-Zo demand for Union Territory status for the Kuki-Zo people, adding, \u201cThis only proves one thing \u2013 our future is in our own hands,\u201d the leader said.<\/p>\n<p>The draft &#8220;Kuki-Zo People\u2019s Referendum Ballot,&#8221; which focuses on &#8220;the Political Future of the Kuki-Zo People of Manipur,&#8221; proposes that voting be open to Kuki-Zo citizens listed on India\u2019s electoral rolls. The question posed would be: \u201cDo you, as a Kuki-Zo person residing in Manipur, support the creation of a Union Territory for all Kuki-Zo villages to be governed directly by the Central Government of India, ensuring safety, justice, and equitable development?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Kuki-Zo leader emphasized that the creation of Nagaland through the Naga plebiscite is a historical precedent that validated the Naga people&#8217;s will. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s simpler\u2014we just need to vote on whether to stay under Manipur or become a Union Territory,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that rejecting the referendum will not extinguish the Kuki struggle. Delhi\u2019s defiance only intensifies the fight for freedom in Manipur. The region\u2019s minorities are waking up to the reality: submission is no longer an option, and their fight for justice and freedom is unstoppable. History has shown that when tyranny prevails over justice, the oppressed always rise, reclaiming their destiny. Delhi\u2019s silence will not erase the bloodshed\u2014each ignored wound transforms into an unyielding battle for freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imphal: Following failed talks with the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) delegation, various Christian dominated Kuki groups in Manipur are now contemplating a referendum to determine their political future \u2013 whether to push for a Union Territory or remain a part of the state of Manipur. According to Kashmir Media Service, if this referendum &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":170967,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/03\/hq720-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170968,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170966\/revisions\/170968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}