Manipur Violence: How Zomis Took on the 'Elder Brother' Role in Protecting Kukis

The two communities did not always share a cordial relationship and were, in fact, involved in a clash in 1997.

Touthang (name changed), an elderly Kuki man, felt relieved when he reached Lamka, a town situated 60 km from Imphal, where he could find refuge from the Meiteis.

He was part of a population exchange that was carried out between the stranded hill and valley people on 9 May. Touthang had been living in the Imphal Valley as a government employee for several decades. He pretty much felt at home there. That is, until the conflict erupted.

Originally from Kangpokpi, he said:

"At Lamka, the Zomis are welcoming and hospitable, which is why I chose it as a place of refuge. The availability of humanitarian assistance and shelter have made us feel safe. However, we don't know how long Lamka will be able to hold out against the Meiteis."

The Zomis in Lamka, which has been renamed as Churachandpur district by the Meiteis, taking on an elder brotherly role in this conflict has been highly appreciated by the Kukis throughout Manipur. This role is historically, as well as culturally situated, and must be seen as a way of destabilising the politics of identity.

Hospitality as a Way of Life

In the past, the Zomis and Kukis did not share a 'healthy' equation. However, this has changed over time.

This change can be attributed to the instrumentalisation of Zos' culturality in general – the Zomi and Kukis in particular. They have a traditional and historical way of showing 'hospitality' to visitors and their cultural brethren, both in times of peace and war.

Since time immemorial, Zomis have maintained a close and healthy relationship with their neighbours. Their neighbourly traditions include sharing bundles of vegetables and meat, and visiting one another when they are sick or celebrating.

Hosts customarily offer zu (beer) or tea to visitors. And whenever a village chief was visiting, fowl and pigs were slaughtered.

According to the practices of the Paite tribe from the Zomi group, when a stranger of similar culture enters their compound or seeks refuge from war, any member of the family who sees them first stands up and meets them. They are then relieved of their burden and offered any available food, be it beer or a cup of tea.

All the services rendered for the comfort of the stranger are free.

Disregarding Historical Nuances

At present, the Zomis comprise tribes like the Tedim-Chin, Gangte, Paite, Simte, Vaiphei, Mate, Thangkhal, Zou, and others.

The cultural connotation of the Zomi would, however, include all the Zo ethnic groups. Depending on the locality and region they were raised in, some also identify themselves as Mizo or Kuki.

In Lamka, the Zomis embrace their descendants as Zos. Some of the Kukis and the Hmars also accept that they are descendants of Zo. Hence, when the term Zo is used contextually, it means a conglomeration of Kuki, Mizo, and Zomi.

By the end of the Second World War, communities began looking towards fortifying their own future in modern India. Around the same time, the tribal groups in present-day Manipur, such as the Nagas, Kukis, and Zomis, began asserting their political future.

In Manipur and Nagaland, AZ Phizo, a prominent Naga leader, initiated a movement for territorial integrity for the Naga people. The movement culminated in the establishment of the Naga National Council (NNC).

A number of other non-Naga tribes had been alerted about this political development, raising the eyebrows of many.

It was for this reason that in 1946, under SM Zavum's leadership, a gathering of Kuki, Thadou, Paite, Hmar, Gangte, Vaiphei, Simte, Mayon, Lamkang, Maring, Anal, Chiru, and more, was held.

Without formally concluding, the proposal of Kuki as the official language for communication was not accepted by the minority tribes, which resulted in their dispersal, without a substantial agreement on their future political directions.

Accordingly, Manipur's tribal population was divided into three categories –

• Kukis in Sadar Hills, Tamenglong, Chandel, Ukhrul, and parts of Lamka;

• Nagas in Ukhrul, Senapati, and Tamenglong;

• Zomis in Lamka.

The Clash That Broke Out in 1997

During the 1993 conflict between the Kukis and Nagas, over tens of thousands of Kukis were displaced from their villages, and they took shelter in Lamka.

The Zomis provided emotional and social support to them by assisting the displaced Kukis to settle in Lamka. Many displaced Kukis have relocated to Tuibong and its surrounding villages.

With the increase in inter- and intra-tribal interactions, as well as social and political frictions, a clash broke out between the Zomi and Kukis in 1997.

After almost a year of the conflict, which saw the destruction of villages and the killing of hundreds of civilians from both sides, a peace agreement was inked between the two groups upon Kuki Inpi's invitation of the Zomi Council to a feast.

In addition to slaughtering a bull (a traditional form of appeasement) for this occasion, the peace agreement stipulated that all Zomis and Kukis shall respect each other's nomenclatures. It follows that any individual or group of individuals shall be free to call themselves by whatever name they wish.

Since the 1997 clash, Kukis and Zomis have lived peacefully together in Lamka for several decades.

Despite the dominance of the Zomis in Lamka, they continue to respect the 1997 peace agreement, and in particular, the prohibition on the imposition of nomenclature on any individuals or groups.

For example, in 2015, the Zomis in Lamka led an unprecedented protest against unpopular anti-tribal bills that threatened the existence of tribals in Manipur.

These bills were the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh) Amendment Bill 2015 (MLR&LR Bill 2015), the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, and the Manipur Shops and Establishments Act (Second) Amendment Bill 2015.

In order to achieve unity, the Zomis sacrificed their identity and instead used 'tribal' as a means of inclusion.

In another example, in their push for a political solution for the Zomis in Lamka, the Zomis and Hmar leaders said that the proposed Southern Manipur Autonomous Territorial Council (SMATC) must appeal to tribal and non-tribal communities in Lamka to do away with identity politics. Hence, the SMATC is neutral to communal names like Kukilan, Zogam, Zalengam, among others, and based on contiguous geographical space along the southern parts of Manipur.

Culture as a Way of Bridging Boundaries

Following the cultural hospitality practised by the Zomis, the ongoing Manipur conflict practically witnessed that while relief supplies and humanitarian aid do not have boundaries, ethnicities do. Various Zomi civil society organisations are proactive in ensuring basic amenities and food supplies, irrespective of whether the displaced persons are Kukis, Zomis, or Mizos.

While the Zomis and Kukis historically share conflict of interests in identity formation, it is their common culture of 'hospitality' – or what Mizos would call 'tlawmngaihna' – shared across the Zo ethnic groups that ensures the unity and bonding of the two ethnic groups in the ongoing conflict.

In an outwardly positive expression, a Kuki individual, who is originally an inhabitant of Lamka, expressed his gratitude to the Zomis concerning the ways in which the Zomis have moved beyond past atrocities and extended their support, shelter, and cooperation to different communities.

What has been witnessed is the process of cultural identification over identity regularities that would rather cause divide instead of unity.

As per the latest records, over 15,514 displaced people reached Lamka after the violence. There are over 93 relief centers in the district.

• Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi runs around 52 relief centres with a total of 7,746 internally displaced persons (IDPs)

• Young Paite Association has 700 IDPs in eight relief centres

• Zou Youth Association has nine relief centres with 765 IDPs

• Young Vaiphei Association with seven relief centres has 3,900 IDPs

• Hmar Youth Association (HYA) has a total of eight relief centres with 1318 IDPs

• Young Mizo Association has five relief centres with 570 IDPs

• Thangkhal Youth Organisation with two relief centres has 400 IDPs

Basic food and amenities are supplied through crowdfunding. They don't expect much from the government nor have hope of help from them. Instead, they are being helped by civil society, from the Zomis and Kukis, and from the Mizo brethren across Mizoram who play a significant role in giving out charity.

Mizoram held a charity concert in Aizawl to aid the displaced Zo people in Manipur.

What the Zomis in Lamka and the Mizos in Mizoram are deliberately showing through their act of inclusivity is an example of a cultural reoirentation that de-politicises identity and gives a chance to culture in order to ensure unity across historically marginalised and dispersed ethnic groups like the Zos.

In order to accomplish this, the Zomis in Manipur have discreetly sacrificed their identity in Lamka for decades, by putting aside their own political interest.

(Suanmuanlian Tonsing is a PhD student at the School of Information, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. As a cultural insider to the Paite community, Tonsing’s area of study is the intersection of indigenous peoples and technology. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed are the author's own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them).