MHA calls meeting of Kuki, Meitei groups in Delhi today
Over the last two years, the government’s efforts to have joint meetings with representatives of both groups have failed
The MHA is set to hold joint talks with Kuki-Zo and Meitei groups in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon, which, if fructifies, will be the first time in the last two years that the two warring communities will come together to sit for peace talks mediated by the Centre.
Over the last two years, the government’s efforts to have joint meetings with representatives of both groups have failed. On October 15, 2024 when MHA had called a meeting of Meitei and Kuki-Zo MLAs in New Delhi, Kuki-Zo MLAs attended the meeting but refused to sit for a discussion with the Meitei MLAs in the same room. MHA officials were then forced to hold separate meetings in the same building in New Delhi.
Eight members of influential Kuki-Zo groups such as Kuki-Zo Council, Hmar Inpi, COTU and Zomi Council reached New Delhi on Friday evening for the talks, people aware of the development said. The Meitei groups are being represented by Federation of Civil Society Organisations and All Manipur United Clubs Organisation. They too reached Delhi on Friday morning.
“The talks will be led by MHA north east advisor, AK Mishra, ministry officials and officials of the Intelligence Bureau. Both groups agreed to sit together for talks. They were told it would be a joint sitting of both communities. If everything goes well, this is the first and big step towards restoring normalcy. At least they agreed to come together to the meeting,” an official aware of the matter said.
In his reply to the Lok Sabha, Union home minister Amit Shah had said on Thursday morning that the government is trying to hold joint meetings with both Kuki and Meitei groups. He said, “Very soon, there will be a joint meeting. We are working to have a joint meeting.
A day later, Shah told the Rajya Sabha said that during the ongoing budget session, two separate meetings had been held with Kuki-ZO and Meitei groups. “We are confident that a joint meeting with both groups will soon be held in New Delhi,” he said in the early hours of Friday when the Rajya Sabha was discussing the statutory resolution on the proclamation of the President’s Rule in Manipur.
Manihar, president of the FOCS, a prominent Meitei group said, “Six representatives from two groups, including the acting president, are in Delhi for the peace talks. The MHA said this will be a joint talk with the other community.”
Kuki-Zo council president Henlianthang, said, “Eight members, two from each Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal group have come to Delhi for the joint talks. We are yet to be informed of the time or the place of the meeting.”
Prominent Meitei group COCOMI convenor Khuraijam Athouba said, “We are not attending the talks. There was a phone call from Delhi and we do not even know if it is from an authentic person. We are not attending the joint meeting, because the government in Parliament has presented wrong causes for the violence in the state.”
