Hill Parties of Manipur: A Review on Pre-Statehood Political Parties

The emergence of political parties in the hills of Manipur has a different context from that of the Valley or any other part of the country. Unlike other political or regional parties in India, the regional parties from the hills of the state emerged in order to safeguard the identity, culture and language of each tribe. As such these parties are tribe based or ethnic based, intertwining democratic representation with tribal feudalism. The current paper is an attempt to review regional parties emerging from the Hills of Manipur before 1972 or statehood. The review is focussed on 7 regional parties- the Manipur Zeliangrong Union, the Naga National League, the Mizo Union, the Kuki National Assembly, the Hmar National Congress, the Paite National Council, and the Khulmi Union.