Manipur: Kukis protest deputy chief minister in new BJP government

After two years of presidential rule, the northeastern state is governed by an elected government. The appointment of Nemcha Kipgen, an ethnic Kuki, as deputy chief minister has sparked protests and strikes in the hill areas, where demands for a separate administration remain strong, reigniting tensions with the Meitei majority.

Imphal (AsiaNews) – After nearly two years of direct administration by the central government, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur has an elected government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The formation of the new government is, however, already rekindling ethnic tensions. Several Kuki-Zo community organisations have launched protests against the appointment of their representative, Nemcha Kipgen, as deputy chief minister.

Yesterday, Yumnam Khemchand Singh was sworn in as Manipur's 13th chief minister, formally marking the end to presidential rule imposed after violent ethnic clashes broke out in 2023 between the Meitei, who make up the majority of the population, and the Kuki-Zo.

However, the new political phase has not brought about any easing of tensions.

The decision to include Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki lawmaker elected for Kangpokpi District, in the cabinet has sparked a backlash from numerous ethnic groups, who accuse the politician of accepting the post without the community's consent.

The Joint Forum of Seven (JF7), which brings together several Kuki-Zo organisations, has called a dawn-to-dusk general strike for today, 5 February, in areas where the community is the majority.

Within hours of her appointment, the slogan “Blood on your hands, traitor Nemcha Kipgen” began circulating among protesters. Some claim that she chose “the post of deputy chief minister over her own community.”

Tensions escalated further when a group of armed village protection volunteers announced cash rewards for the killing of Kipgen and two other ethnic Hmar-Zomi MPs who attended the swearing-in ceremony in the capital, Imphal, a predominantly Meitei city.

Nemcha Kipgen is not a newcomer to local politics. She previously held ministerial positions in governments led by N. Biren Singh. During the 2023 ethnic violence, her official residence in Imphal was torched.

Kipgen is also among the ten Kuki-Zo MPs who had previously called for a separate administrative structure for the hill areas, where the Kuki population is concentrated.

In a statement released yesterday, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) reiterated its opposition to participating in the Manipur government.

The council states that, after "unspeakable atrocities" suffered and the physical separation imposed by the Meitei, the Kuki-Zo community cannot participate in a shared government without written political guarantees from the state and central governments.

The main demand remains a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo areas, in the form of a Union Territory with its own legislative assembly.

According to the KZC, participating in a government with the Meitei would be "neither logical nor acceptable" under current conditions.

The council also clarified that any Kuki-Zo deputies who choose to join the government do so in a personal capacity and assume the political consequences.

The birth of the new government has therefore taken place amid a still fragile climate.

Meanwhile, in the hill areas, calls for greater autonomy and political recognition continue, while the wounds of the 2023 clashes remain open, making true reconciliation impossible for the time being.

• india
• manipur
• meitei
• kuki-zo
• ethnic violence
• new cabinet
• opposition
• separation