Kuki tribe remembers bravehearts of Anglo-Kuki war

To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of Anglo-Kuki war of 1917-19, the Kuki tribes of Manipur recently observed the centennial with the unveiling of a Monolith in Manipur's Churanchandpur district.

The theme for the centennial ceremony was "war heroes who valiantly fought for Kuki rights and freedom".

During the centenary commemoration, gun salutes were given as a mark of honour to the leaders who died while defending their ancestral land and freedom. Cultural items were also performed as part of the commemoration.

The Kukis consider the day as one of the biggest uprisings by the tribe against the colonial power as in 1917, the British had demanded recruits to their Labour corps, but Kuki chiefs refused to join and instead declared war on the colonisers in 1917.

Letzamang Haokip, Chairman of the Anglo Kuki War Celebration Committee, said, "It's not only important for the Kuki community, but it is important for the whole state of Manipur and some parts of other states including Burma (in Myanmar) because we were fighting the British force in protection of our ancestral land and also our free self-government."

On the sidelines of the event, Dr. Sailen Haokip Kuki National Organisation's (KNO) spokesperson expressed happiness over the positive development on the ongoing talks with the Centre and Manipur government.

Kuki outfits, under KNO and United People's Front (UPF), have been holding talks with the Centre since June 2016 after signing a Suspension of Operations agreement for stopping counterinsurgency operations against Kuki militants in the state.

"KNO and UPF have united on a political platform for the particular Kuki community we would envision a similar kind of unity may be a political platform with our Meitei brothers and the Nagas also. We have to provide security due to certain elements, we don't want to blame the whole community for these things, they are specific and we have specified also. Our main social objective is that we co-exist with all our neighbours," said Haokip.