Kuki-Zo Council meets IB chief, seeks govt. action on blockade by Nagas
Representatives of the Kuki-Zo Council, an apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribal community, met the Intelligence Bureau chief to press for government action against an alleged highway blockade in hill districts, reportedly enforced by Naga groups.
The Council stated that the restoration of an elected state government in Manipur on February 4, 2026 — about a year after President's Rule was first imposed — had not translated into relief for affected communities.
The blockade has disrupted movement of essential goods, including food and medicine, along national highways connecting hill districts to the Imphal valley.
The meeting reflects continuing efforts by community organisations to route grievances through central security and administrative channels rather than only the state government.
President's Rule (Article 356) and Restoration of Elected Government
Article 356 of the Constitution empowers the President to assume the functions of a state government if satisfied that governance cannot be carried on in accordance with constitutional provisions, based on a Governor's report or otherwise. Manipur was placed under President's Rule in February 2025 following a breakdown of the political executive amid prolonged ethnic unrest, with Parliament required to approve the proclamation within two months and renew it every six months, up to a maximum of three years under the 44th Amendment Act, 1978.
Key Details
- Under President's Rule, the Governor administers the state on the President's behalf, typically assisted by advisors or the Chief Secretary, and the state legislature is either dissolved or kept in suspended animation.
- Revocation of President's Rule requires a fresh council of ministers to be sworn in, restoring the normal constitutional machinery of the state.
- The Supreme Court's judgment in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) laid down that the proclamation under Article 356 is subject to judicial review and that the floor test in the Assembly is the true test of majority.
Manipur's elected government was restored on February 4, 2026, ending a period of central rule; the Council's grievance is that ground-level security and administrative gaps persist despite this constitutional restoration.
Manipur's Hill-Valley Ethnic Conflict Background
The Kuki-Zo and Naga communities inhabit Manipur's hill districts (about 90% of the state's geographical area), distinct from the Meitei-majority Imphal valley. Ethnic violence that began in May 2023 between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities — triggered by a dispute over Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community — has since produced episodic tension and mistrust between hill communities as well, including between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups sharing adjoining hill areas.
Key Details
- Kuki-Zo and most Naga tribes hold Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, administered historically under separate customary and administrative arrangements from the Meitei-majority valley.
- Security in the affected areas has involved central paramilitary deployment alongside state police, with the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) applicable in parts of the state (excluding the Imphal Municipal area) to grant special powers to armed forces in "disturbed areas."
- Blockades and counter-blockades on national highways have repeatedly been used by community organisations on multiple sides as a means of protest and pressure during the conflict.
The alleged blockade by Naga groups on highways passing through Kuki-Zo-majority districts illustrates how inter-community friction, layered atop the broader Kuki-Zo-Meitei conflict, continues to affect essential supply lines even after political normalcy was nominally restored.
Autonomous District Councils in Manipur's Hill Areas
Unlike most other Northeastern states, Manipur's hill areas are not covered by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Instead, Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in Manipur's hill districts function under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971, a Parliamentary law enacted when Manipur was still a Union Territory, giving them narrower powers than Sixth Schedule councils.
Key Details
- Manipur's ADCs have limited jurisdiction, largely confined to personal law matters like marriage, divorce, and social customs, and their proposals must pass through the state's Hill Areas Committee before reaching the Assembly.
- Sixth Schedule councils, by contrast, enjoy direct legislative and executive powers over subjects like land, forests, and village administration, subject only to Governor's assent.
- Hill tribes in Manipur have long demanded Sixth Schedule status or greater autonomy; some Kuki-Zo organisations have separately renewed demands for a Union Territory with a legislature as a political solution to the conflict.
The Council's approach to central agencies rather than relying solely on the existing hill-area council framework reflects the perceived inadequacy of Manipur's current autonomous administrative structures in addressing security and governance concerns in the hills.
- President's Rule was imposed in Manipur in February 2025 and revoked on February 4, 2026, with a new elected government sworn in immediately after.
- Manipur's hill areas comprise roughly 90% of the state's geography but around 43% of its population; the Imphal valley holds about 57% of the population in roughly 10% of the area.
- Manipur's ADCs operate under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971 — not the Sixth Schedule, which applies in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
- AFSPA remains in force in Manipur outside the Imphal Municipal Council area.