The Shongthu Chate

  There are many people who find it hard to believe that the Kukis had fought the mighty British for almost three years, i.e., from 1917-1919. For them, the tribals of those days were still considered “barbaric”, “uncivilized”, “savage”, and had no skill to face the British soldiers who were equipped with the most advanced weapons available in Europe. However, they didn’t realized that the Kukis in India and their brethren Chins in Burma had been using “muzzle loading guns” ( thihnang ) and country-made cannons ( pumpi ) on a large scale since the early 19 th century. They were also able to manufacture these weapons along with the pounding gunpowders on their own as long as they had the raw materials. It may be noted that thihnang was first imported from abroad, probably from ports connecting Asia with Europe, and later manufactured locally. Pumpi is purely an indigenous weapon invented by the Kukis using the same technology used in thihnang though it is much bigger in size...

Manipur has a history of deep hill-valley divide. The Meiteis usually argue against this dichotomy, but every aspect of the Manipuri society, what they think and how they act, are all evidence of how deeply divided the two entities are. Even in the imagination of the Meiteis, the previously princely state which they fondly called as “ Kangleipak ” (Dried Land, Lacustrine Plain or a landmass formed by filling up of a lake), “ Meitrabak ” or “ Meitei Leipak ” (Land of the Meiteis), and much later “ Sana Leibak ” (Land of Jewels), has never been remembered as a single entity but “ Ching-Tam ” (Hill-Valley). The current ethnic violence between the dominant community Meiteis, who are in the valley, and the minority Kukis in the hills, is also deeply rooted in this hill-valley divide. Knowing well about this historical divide, the British never allowed the Manipuri Kings to rule over the hills during the colonial period. Rather, the hill administrations were kept under the supervision of a ...

The Anglo-Kuki War, 1917-1919 was one of the lengthiest and deadliest anti-colonial wars against the British. It was also a major Tribal Revolt during World War I. The preparation for the war began as early as in March 1917 but the assault started in October 1917 and continued till May 1919. Many people assumed that the Kukis were defeated in the war, but in reality, they were not defeated even in a single battle. This is mainly because the rebel Kukis applied guerrilla warfare where “hit-and-run” was the main tactic. In many cases, the rebel Kukis would ambush the British soldiers, kill or maimed as many as they can, and then disappear deep into the jungle. In some cases, they laid traps using boulders, giant wooden logs, hidden pits with sharp wooden or bamboo sticks fixed at the bottom, and nets with sharp bamboo or wooden sticks, etc. in unsuspecting locations and narrow roads where there are no diversion routes. However the military strength of the rebel Kukis lies mainly in t...

Since May 3, 2023, the Kuki-Zo community has been at the receiving end of the state-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaign in the hands of the dominant community. So far, 164 have lost their lives, 200+ villages (7000+ houses), 360+ churches and other places of worship have been burnt, and 41,425 people were displaced from their homes. Moreover, nearly a hundred have died in the relief camps for lack of medical care and financial constrictions and many are helplessly waiting for their end. Among the most dreadful incidents are those involving women being paraded naked, gangraped, and murdered. A few survivors who are still struggling to overcome the trauma are living testimonies. The way David Thiek was murdered, a video in which his head was hanged over a fencing pole went viral, is something nobody would have imagined in this civilised world. Even after nine months, the attack on Kuki villages and their properties continues unabated. In the latest one such incident, a house in Chiki...

There is a popular story about David and Goliath in the Bible. Goliath was a Giant who thinks he was the strongest man on Earth. His tribesmen also took pride in having such a great warrior on their side. To them, he was invincible to the enemy, and hence the immortal. On the other, David was a young shepherd known for his aptitude in humming hymns with his musical instruments in the woods. During the day, he used to play different tunes with his flute, and during the night, he used to defend his lambs against wild beasts coming to snatch them. Even tigers and leopards often find themselves in trouble as he would easily break their yaw-bones and kill them bare-hands without much effort. One day, this little boy went to the frontline with tiffin where his brothers were guarding the buffer zones like many of our brave soldiers did today. There, he heard a voice from the other side of the border in quest of a man who dare to fight him. This Giant named Goliath was naming a shaming his...

A society’s well-being is reflected in the way the youths are organised at the village level, or tribe/community level at large. How the Young Mizo Association (YMA) and Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), along with the Church NGOs, functions in the Mizo society can be an example if one is looking for a model. In fact, as pressure groups, these NGOs play an important role in all major policies and programs in that state. At times, they even influence the outcomes of state elections as any political party that goes against the wishes of the Church and the two youth associations always end up losing the electoral battle. Among the Kukis, the structure of KSO Nagaland comes very near to it in terms of its connection with the units at the village level. The case of the Kuki society in Manipur is almost the opposite of what we see in Mizoram, and partly in Nagaland. The reasons are many and varied. For one, the Kukis of Manipur are yet to have a territory or homeland which they can call their own. Sec...

1 When we were school-going kids in the 1990s, we used to borrow and share whatever we have including books and pens. Many of us couldn’t afford to buy new ones every year, and had to depend on our seniors for textbooks. The kind of economic condition we were in and how much our parents struggled to manage a square meal a day was something we can only imagine in today’s world. Such “sharing is caring” attitude we had 20-30 years ago gradually appears to have slowly disappeared in the last one decade or so as our society grew financially. Students now tend to focus on sharing birthday cakes and restaurants’ menus rather than books and pencils. Moreover, the idea of using used-books had almost become a thing of the past until the current ethnic violence broke out on May 3, 2023. 2 Now that we are into a war-like situation where even textbooks are barred from entering our areas, we can only think of reviving our traditional value Khankho at least in the field of education. Since the radic...

The Kukis are traditionally warrior tribes. Their oral stories are filled with mythical heroes such as Galngam/Ralngam, Jamdil/Lamdil, Lenchonghoi’s brothers, etc. There are also moral stories rooted in Khankho ( Tlawmngaihna in Mizo). Moreover, unlike many other ethnic communities, the different Kuki tribes maintained uniform oral histories regarding their origin and migration. In fact, culturally, linguistically, and ethnically, all the tribes belonging to the Kuki ethnic groups are undeniably of the same “ethnic stock” though they are artificially divided in the present time. It may also be noted that the Kukis, like other warrior tribes, are known for their bravery and love for freedom. Since the early phase of colonial rule, they never allow the British to rule over their hills without giving a fight. The series of anti-colonial resistance which began as early as around 1777 culminated in the Anglo-Kuki War, 1917-1919. In the three-year long tribal revolt during World War I, the...

On 17-18 February 2024, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organized a two-day National Convention in New Delhi aimed at strategizing its plan for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Curiously, the Meitei chief minister, Mr. N. Biren Singh, chose to skip, rather forced to, and stayed back in Imphal, though BJP leaders from the Kuki community, including Minister Pi Nemcha Kipgen, attended the convention. The reason behind Biren’s absence was apparently due to the mounting pressure from various Meitei organizations to resolve the current crisis before initiating any process for the election. It is also noteworthy that while virtually inaugurating the newly constructed Jawaharlal Nehru Vidyalaya (JNV) School building online, the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lauded Pi Nemcha, the lone woman in the state cabinet, for her contribution towards the upliftment of the people. Dr. S. Lorho Pfoze, the Hon’ble MP (Outer Manipur), and other dignitaries attending the function also...