GUWAHATI: The ethnic conflict in Manipur between the Kuki and Meitei communities since May 3 has put six minor tribes – Aimol, Chiru, Chothe, Kharam, Koireng, and Kom – at the crossroads.
The unease for these minor tribes has been triggered by the bid to identify them as either Kuki or Naga. The Nagas are the largest tribal group in Manipur followed by the Kukis.
The Aimols, in particular, have been perturbed by certain developments since the Isak-Muivah faction of the extremist National Socialist Council of Nagaland claimed in May that they, along with the five other minor tribes “are part of the Naga community”.
The Aimol Tribute Union Manipur (ATUM) has now expressed concern over one of its leaders, R.T. Akhel Aimol maintaining ties with the Kuki Inpi, the apex body of the Kuki community. The union has also criticised a Meitei social organisation called Kangleipak Kanba Lup for allegedly classifying the Aimols as a tribe belonging to the Kuki fold.
“Aimols are an indigenous, peace-loving tribal group specific to Manipur, and we should not be dragged into the ongoing conflict,” ATUM president S. Munthuireng told journalists in Manipur’s Chandel a few days ago.
He also advised people who doubt their ethnicity to go through the Cheitharol Kumbaba (royal chronicle documenting the reign of more than 75 Meitei kings), which underlines the distinct identity of the Aimols.
The Meiteis, Nagas and Kukis account for much of Manipur’s population. While the Meiteis include the Pangals, who are Muslims, many tribes are clubbed either as Nagas or Kukis.
Tribal groups representing either the Kukis or Nagas have periodically claimed the inclusion of minor tribes into their folds.
In April 1987, the Manipur Kuki Tribes Recognition Demand Committee submitted a memorandum to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi seeking the constitutional recognition of 30 tribes as Kukis. These tribes included the Aimol, Chiru, Chothe, and Kom, now figuring on the NSCN (I-M) list.
The Aimols, though, have resisted bids to be tagged as Naga or Kuki. In November 2015, members of the community carried out a rally to protest the erection of a monolith in the Chandel district declaring that they joined the Naga fold.
