‘Disheartening Blow’: Kuki’s in India and Myanmar on Amit Shah’s Remarks (Image: bjp.org)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Kuki immigrants in Parliament have been arising sharp reactions from the Kuki community in both India and Myanmar.

“Kuki immigrants from Myanmar were contributing to tensions in Manipur” said Mr Shah addressing the Monsoon session of Parliament. He also mentioned that the tribal people in Manipur are from Myanmar.

Mr Shah was replying in the debate session on behalf of the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against his BJP led government over the ongoing ethnic violence in the Northeastern Indian state of Manipur.

The Home Minister’s remarks are a ‘disheartening blow’, responded The Manipur Tribals’ Forum in Delhi (MTFD).

The speech [by Mr Shah] was ‘plain wrong’, said The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF). The speech was to blame ‘helpless and deprived’ refugees, added the ITLF.

Saying, “I am from the state of Mizoram. I am a tribal MP”, K Vanlalvena also lashed out against Mr Shah in the parliament on Thursday.

“We are not Myanmarese. We are Indian. We have been living there for 200 years”, he added.

Clarifying Mr Shah’s speech, The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) of Burma in Myanmar also further wrote to Om Birla, the Speaker of Lok Sabha. There is no Kuki outfit in the country named Kuki Democratic Front as claimed by Mr Shah, says the letter as reported by The Hindu. 

“We are constantly under tremendous pressure to indulge in other distractions like the ethnic problem in Manipur, we have our hands full fighting the junta in Myanmar and could not afford to look for adventures in India”, added the KNO in their letter to the Lok Sabha speaker.

The KNO president has also requested Mr Birla to make necessary clarifications at the parliament that ‘there was no movement from any of its units from Myanmar to Indian territories’.

According to Mr Shah, “an outfit called the Kuki Democratic Front had started putting up a fight against the junta, after the 2021 military coup in Myanmar”.

The conflict in Brahmadesh in Myanmar, neighbouring Indian border, forced a large number of Kuki people to migrate to Manipur since the International Border in the State is under a Free Movement Regime, said Mr Shah.

And this change that caused an insecurity among the Meiteis, the majority population of Manipur eventually led to violence, Mr Shah added.