Manipur Organisations Demand Delisting of ‘Any Kuki Tribes’ from ST Category

Two Manipur-based civil-society organisations—Thadou Inpi Manipur (the apex body of the Thadou tribe) and the Meitei Alliance—have formally asked the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to delete the “Any Kuki Tribes” (AKT) entry from Manipur’s Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes list).
Their memorandum makes five core assertions:

1. Opens the door to “foreign” claimants:
   The label “Any Kuki Tribes,” they argue, is so general that it enables people who are not indigenous to Manipur—including recent migrants from across the Indo-Myanmar border—to register as Scheduled Tribes. By acquiring ST status, such individuals can access land in the state’s hill areas, corner job and education quotas, and claim other constitutional privileges meant for bona-fide indigenous communities. The petitioners warn this threatens the ownership of traditional tribal land and depletes natural resources reserved for recognised groups.

2. State cabinet has twice endorsed deletion:
   The Manipur government itself recommended removing AKT on two occasions: 19 October 2018 and 2 January 2023. Both cabinet resolutions, the groups note, concluded that the category is anomalous and should be struck off. Hence, their present demand merely mirrors the state’s official position; they want New Delhi to act on recommendations already on the record.

3. Fails the Article 342 test:
   Under Article 342 of the Constitution, a community seeking ST status must exhibit a distinct language, culture, and, historically, some degree of geographical isolation. The petition states that “Any Kuki Tribes” is not a specific community at all but a catch-all expression with no single language, cultural heritage, or ancestral territory. Because it lacks the individuality envisaged by Article 342, AKT, in their view, should never have been notified as an ST grouping.

4. Stokes ethnic tension and legal confusion:
   By blurring the boundaries of indigenous identity, the AKT label fuels mistrust among ethnic communities, the memorandum claims. Ambiguity over who legitimately falls under “Any Kuki Tribes” complicates land administration, reservation benefits, and customary rights, leading to disputes and litigation that “exacerbate ethnic discord.”

5. Questionable inclusion in 2003:
   The organisations allege that the AKT category was inserted into Manipur’s ST list in 2003 through “politically motivated and non-transparent means,” bypassing rigorous ethnographic scrutiny. They contend that the inclusion lacked the linguistic and cultural distinctiveness normally required for notification and therefore should be revisited.

Citing these arguments, Thadou Inpi Manipur and the Meitei Alliance urge the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to expunge “Any Kuki Tribes” from the Scheduled Tribes list and replace it, if necessary, with specific, well-defined Kuki sub-tribes that fulfil constitutional criteria. They maintain that such a step would protect genuine tribal rights, reduce inter-ethnic friction, and bring Manipur’s ST roster into line with legal principles and earlier cabinet decisions.