The Kuki-Zo Women’s Forum on Wednesday demanded the reimposition of President’s Rule in Manipur, arguing that the state’s crisis is political and cannot be resolved merely by deploying additional security forces.
At a press conference in New Delhi, the forum also called for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people in the form of a Union Territory with a legislature, saying the arrangement was essential for the community’s survival.
“Our political demand is not merely a political demand. It is a question of our survival. We want to survive,” Ginza Vualzong, a spokesperson for the Kuki-Zo Council, said.
Ginza said the Centre had been treating the situation as a security problem by deploying large numbers of security personnel, but that this approach had failed to resolve the crisis over the past three years. The spokesperson urged the government to expedite political dialogue.
The forum claimed that Kuki-Zo civilians felt safer under President’s Rule and alleged that 32 members of the community had been killed since the formation of the new government in Manipur.
“During the President’s Rule, we did not lose any lives in violence,” Ginza said, calling for its reimposition.
The spokesperson said the community was not seeking separation from India but wanted a constitutional arrangement that would allow its people to live with safety and dignity.
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