Central govt holds meeting with Meitei, Kuki-Zo groups to restore peace

The five-hour long meeting that started at 11am was reportedly held at a secured location in New Delhi was attended by central government interlocutor AK Mishra and two senior officials

Imphal: The Central government held a meeting on Saturday with representatives from Manipur’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in the national capital with an aim to rebuild understanding and restore peace in Manipur.

This was the first time in the last two years that the two warring communities came together to sit for peace talks mediated by the Centre (PTI)

The five-hour long meeting that started at 11am was reportedly held at a secured location in New Delhi was attended by central government interlocutor AK Mishra and two senior officials, said people familiar with the matter. The state of Manipur was represented by the chief secretary and additional director general of police (ADGP) in the meeting.

A six-member Meitei delegation, including representatives from the All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation and the Federation of Civil Society Organisations, attended the meeting. Meanwhile, an eight-member Kuki-Zo delegation, comprising representatives from the Kuki-Zo Council and the Zomi Council, was also present, people said.

This was the first time in the last two years that the two warring communities came together to sit for peace talks mediated by the Centre. The meeting was reportedly held as part of the central government’s initiatives to find an amicable solution to the ongoing conflict between the two communities, which began in May 2023.

Over the last two years, the government’s efforts to have joint meetings with representatives of both groups have failed. On October 15, 2024 when MHA had called a meeting of Meitei and Kuki-Zo MLAs in New Delhi, Kuki-Zo MLAs attended the meeting but refused to sit for a discussion with the Meitei MLAs in the same room. MHA officials were then forced to hold separate meetings in the same building in New Delhi.

At least 250 people died and 60,000 were rendered homeless in the ethnic clashes between Kuki-Zo and Meitei groups that started on May 4, 2023. Over 22 months after the clashes first broke out, normalcy is yet to be restored in the state.

Last month, the Centre imposed the President’s rule in Manipur, days after chief minister N Biren Singh resigned following a rebellion by some ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators against Singh. A month before Singh’s resignation, the Centre had appointed former home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as the governor.