The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) is a political organisation established in 1988, with the aim of representing the interests of the Kuki people in northeast India and northwest Myanmar (Burma). The organisation operates alongside its principal armed wing, the Kuki National Army (KNA), and has been active in advocating for the rights and aspirations of the Kuki community. [1]
The Kuki National Organisation was founded in 1988, with PS Haokip serving as its president and the supreme commander of the Kuki National Army. Anton Kuki holds the position of Home Secretary within the organisation. The late Brigadier Vipin Haokip was the first Chief of Army Staff of the Kuki National Army, succeeded by Colonel S Robert in January 2005. [1]
The leadership of the Kuki National Organisation includes various cabinet members such as Khaikholun, Lalminthang Vaiphei, SNG Haokip, Amitabh TS Haokip, Zale’n Kuki, Joshua Haokip, TH German Haokip, David Thangboi, Kamkhenpao Zou, Thangboi Karong, and Thangsang Hmar. Each member holds a specific portfolio ranging from public relations to medical affairs. [1]
The primary objective of the organisation is to advocate for the rights and recognition of the Kuki people. They seek the resurrection of Zale’n-gam, the traditional homeland of the Kukis, which spans across parts of northeast India and northwest Myanmar. The organisation aims to achieve recognition of Zale’n-gam's territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the possibility of statehood within India and Myanmar. [1]
The Kuki National Organisation operates primarily in the mountainous districts of Manipur, India, and adjoining areas in Assam, as well as in the Kabaw valley of Myanmar. The Kuki National Army, the armed wing of the organisation engaged in guerrilla warfare against the military junta in Myanmar between 1991 and 1999. [1]
While the principal armed wing of the KNO is the Kuki National Army, it has since been joined by numerous other armed groups including: [1]
1. Hmar National Army Thang song Hmar C-in-C
2. Kuki National Front (MC) TH German Haokip C-in-C
3. Kuki National Front (Z) Joshua Haokip C-in-C
4. United Socialist Revolutionary Army Lalminthang Vaiphei C-in-C
5. Zomi Revolutionary Front David Thangboi C-in-C
6. Zou Defence Volunteer Kamkhenpao Zou C-in-C
7. United Komrem Army Thangboi Karong C-in-C
The Kuki National Organisation has pursued both peaceful negotiations and armed struggle to achieve its objectives. In India, they have submitted memoranda to various government officials since 1995, appealing for recognition and statehood. In Myanmar, they have engaged in violent conflict against the military junta. [1]
The KNO maintains strategic associations with organisations such as the Kachin Independent Organisation, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), Democratic Alliance of Burma, and various ethnic groups within Burma. [1]
The KNO/KNA has been involved in various incidents, including clashes with rival militant groups, encounters with security forces, and instances of violence against civilians. The organisation has faced challenges and confrontations in its pursuit of Kuki rights and statehood.
The group has published several books authored by its president, PS Haokip, addressing Kuki history, customs, and ideology.
The Insurgency in Northeast India involves multiple separatist and jihadist militant groups operating in some of India's northeastern states, which are connected to the rest of India by the Siliguri Corridor, a strip of land as narrow as 14.29 miles (23.00 km) wide.
The Paite people are an ethnic group in Northeast India, mainly living in Manipur and Mizoram. The Paites are recognized as a scheduled tribe in these two states. They are part of the larger Zo people, but also use their Zomi identity along with all the 7 tribes under 'Zomi Council' . "Guite" is a major clan of the Paite people.
The Kuki people, or Kuki-Zo people, are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, as well as the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Kukis form one of the largest hill tribe communities in this region. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh. The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are kindred tribes of the Kukis. Collectively, they are termed the Zo people.
Senapati district, is one of the 16 districts of the Indian state of Manipur. The present Senapati district was formed in December 2016, after spawning off the Sadar Hills region in the south into a separate Kangpokpi district. The district headquarter is located in the town of Senapati, also known as Tahamzam.
Moreh is a border town located on the India–Myanmar border in Tengnoupal district of the Indian state of Manipur. As a rapidly developing international trade point with the integrated customs and international immigration checkpoint, Moreh plays an important role in India's Look East Policy, trade and commerce under ASEAN–India Free Trade Area, India-Myanmar relationship, India–Myanmar–Thailand road connectivity, and Trans-Asian Railway connectivity.
Thadou, Kuki, or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin sub-branch. It is spoken by the Thadou people in Northeast India. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.
Zogam known as Zoland, Zoram, Lushai Hills, Kuki Hills, lies in the northwest corner of the Mainland Southeast Asia landmass. This is the traditional ancestry homeland of the Zo people or Zomi who lived in this area before the colonial period under British rulership.
The Kuki-Chin languages are a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most notable Kuki-Chin-speaking ethnic groups are referred to collectively as the Zo people which includes: the Mizo of Mizoram, the Kuki of Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Bangladesh and the Chin of Chin State, Myanmar.
The Kuki–Paite Conflict, also called Kuki–Zomi Conflict, was an ethnic conflict during 1997–1998 between tribal communities in Churachandpur district in Manipur, India. The conflict started when a Kuki insurgent group, KNF, mercilessly killed 10 Paite villagers of Saikul Village on June 24, 1997, which led to pitting one group that subscribed to the Kuki label against another group that subscribed to the Zomi label, the latter being led by the Paites. The conflict lasted for over a year, during which 352 people died, thousands of homes were destroyed and over 13,000 people were displaced. The Government of India sent in the Indian Army to attempt to stop the violence, but peace was restored in September–October 1998 only with the initiative of the Church.
The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) is an armed Zomi nationalist militant group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Re-unification Organisation, was founded in April 1993.
Zomi is a collective identity adopted some of the Kuki-Chin language-speaking people in India and Myanmar. The term means "Zo people". The groups adopting the Zomi identity reject the conventional labels "Kuki" and "Chin", popularised during the British Raj, as colonial impositions. Even though "Zomi" was originally coined as an all-encompassing identity of the Kuki-Chin-speaking people, in practice, it has proved to be divisive, with considerable number of groups continuing to use the traditional labels "Kuki" and "Chin" and only certain sections adopting the Zomi identity. The groups covered in the identity has varied with time. Compound names such as "Kuki-Zo" and "Zomi Chin" are sometimes used to paper over the divisions.
Khokon is a Kuki village in the Senapati district of Manipur, India. As per Census of India 2011, there are 33 household with a total population of 189 persons, out of which 96 are male while 93 are female.
Zale'n-gam or Zalengam (Thadou-Kuki) dialect for 'land of freedom'), also known as Kukiland is a proposed state by Kuki people, with the intention of uniting all the Kuki tribes under a single government. The proposed state's main proponents are the Kuki National Organisation and its armed wing, the Kuki National Army.
The Insurgency in Manipur is an ongoing armed conflict between India and a number of separatist rebel groups, taking place in the state of Manipur. The Insurgency in Manipur is part of the wider Insurgency in Northeast India; it displays elements of a national liberation war as well as an ethnic conflict.
The Kuki National Army (KNA) is a Kuki insurgent group active in Upper Myanmar and in pockets of Northeast India. It is the armed wing of the Kuki National Organisation.
In the state of Manipur in northeast India, conflict arose between the Kukis and Nagas soon after India's independence. The Nagas, who dominated the northern hill regions of the state, attempted to homogenise the area in order to demand integration with the Naga Hills region further north. This caused displacement of Kukis to the southern districts as well as the central hill regions during the 1950s. Major clashes again occurred during 1992-98, leading to the deaths of more than 1,000 people and diplacement of 50,000–100,000 people.
Kangvai is a village in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. It is on the bank of the Kangvai stream that flows down from the eastern slopes of the Thangjing Hill. It is also the headquarters of the Kangvai Subdivision in the Churachandpur district. In the 2011 census, Kangvai had a population of 939 people. According to many sources, the 2023–2024 Manipur violence began at Kangvai, causing most residents to abandon the village.
The International Meeteis Forum is a Meitei ethnic advocacy group in the Indian state of Manipur. Its objectives are to assert Meitei indigeneity in Manipur, to unify Meiteis around the world, to campaign for the territorial integrity of the Manipur state and to block the influx of alleged foreigners. Founded in 2012 by a retired army officer R. K. Rajendro, it later teamed up with the Federation of Haomee with similar ideological motivations. Both the organisations generated free-flowing hate speech against the Kuki community of Manipur, labelling them as "immigrants" or "foreigners", which was instrumental in the generation of 2023 Manipur violence.
Ukha Loikhai is a village in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. It is on the western slopes of the Thangjing Hill and has ongoing claims to the top of the hill itself. In the 2011 census, Ukha Loikhai had a population of 418 people. Ukha was one of the leading villages in the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919.