Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: The Meetei Tribe Union (MMTU) is calling for a full investigation into the rehabilitation of Kuki refugees who arrived in Manipur from Burma between October 25, 1967, and February 18, 1968. The group claims officials and influential figures manipulated records to secure fraudulent land rights and citizenship benefits during a period of President’s Rule.
Prof. K. Jugindro, chairman of the MMTU Research and Development Cell, detailed the allegations at the Manipur Press Club on October 7. He claims approximately 1,500 Kuki families entered the region to escape the Burmese Army. The Union Home Ministry initially greenlit funds for only 500 families in March 1968, allocating Rs 3,62,500 at a rate of Rs 735 per household.
The MMTU report points to Deputy Commissioner SC Vaish as the administrator who oversaw the program across Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Ukhrul, and Sadar Hills. The Union alleges that political lobbying led to a massive expansion of these benefits by 1973. “The situation was exploited by influential Kuki figures and officials,” Jugindro claimed.
The group asserts that a forged letter falsely granted land and business loans to land-based immigrants, contradicting federal rules that restricted aid to air or sea arrivals with Indian Embassy identification from Rangoon. They maintain that the Ministry of Rehabilitation later flagged this document as fake. Additionally, the MMTU accuses 300 Kuki chiefs of destroying copies of the Manipur Hill Areas (Acquisition of Chiefs’ Rights) Act, 1967, to block land reform. The Union has now retrieved this legislation from the National Archives to push for its enforcement.
Demands are mounting. The MMTU wants the government to cancel the Scheduled Tribe status of these families, reclaim dispersed land, and deport those who entered the country illegally. They believe these steps are mandatory for updating the National Register of Citizens.
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