Mizoram students' body condemns Manipur government's actions against ethnic Zo people

Mizoram's leading students' organisation, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), said on Sunday that it was closely watching the situation in Manipur and condemned N Biren Singh's BJP administration for allegedly attempting to remove the Zo people from their lands.

The outbreak of violence in the Kuki-majority hill area of Churachandpur began on Thursday evening with the torching of Singh's scheduled event location. On April 30, the violence subsided.

"The origin of these problems is the Manipur government's attempts to evict ethnic Zo people from their various settlements so that their lands can be taken from them and these tribal lands can be declared reserved forest, protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands,” the MZP said in a statement. 

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"The MZP strongly condemns Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh's government's actions against ethnic Zo people. The MZP is of the opinion that the Manipur Chief Minister's initiatives are inimical to Northeast unity,” the MZP said.  

"While the Inner Line Permit (ILP) is required for non-Mizoram residents, we never demand it from or create problems for Manipuri (Meitei) people, whom we treat without discrimination,” the MZP said. 

The MZP has been and allegedly will continue to promote unity among ethnic Zo people because it wants to preserve the brother/sisterhood of the community. 

"Despite this, the Manipur Government is attempting to expel our brothers and sisters, who are people of the Northeast, from their own villages, and we are unable to accept this. We demand that the Manipur government immediately stop such initiatives that can be detrimental to ethnic Zo people," said MZP.

“We demand that the Manipur government stops demanding ILP from our ethnic brethren. If the Manipur government continues to take action that is not safe for ethnic Zo people, we will not be responsible for anything that happens to Manipuri (Meitei) people in Mizoram,” the MZP cautioned. 

An ILP is an official document that allows an Indian citizen to enter a protected region for a specified time. It is in use in Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur.

Following an eviction drive and a survey of "reserve forests, protected forests, wetlands, and wildlife" conducted by the state government, the Kukis in Manipur experienced a sense of insecurity and apprehension.