Manipur Conflict: An analysis of causes, Claims by Meiteis and the State Government, and Counterclaims by Kukis

This article explores the underlying causes of conlict in Manipur state by examining Meitei's and Kuki's counterclaims.The Meitei and Kuki groups had multiple problems before May 3, 2023.The Nagas and Kukis organized a tribal unity protest in the hill districts to protest a proposal to add the Meiteis to the list of ST (scheduled tribes), which was the direct cause of the violence.Manipur has been a hotbed of contested assertions since ethnic lashpoints between the majority of Meiteis and the Kuki tribals erupted at the beginning of May 2023.The Meiteis called the Kukis drug dealers, outsiders, poppy growers, refugees, illegal migrants, and encroachers of statereserved forests.The Kukis oppose the claims that they are overpopulated in Manipur, recognizing their land rights and the existence of a historic Anglo-Kuki War, which the Meiteis and the government deny.The Kukis strongly denied that they were illegal migrants, refugees, or encroachers on state-reserved forests.The Kukis, too, said they were not the only ones running drugs and growing poppies.They also remembered the previous Anglo-Kuki War in Manipur and claimed the territorial occupation.Manipur's Kukis have been yearning to ind out their past and ancestry for a long time.Therefore, this study explores the factors causing the conlicts claimed and disputed by the Manipur State Government and the two communities.