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The Kuki people, or Kuki-Zo people,Rakhi Bose, In Tense Manipur, Sub-Categorisation And 'Creamy Layer' Could Open A Pandora's Box, Outlook, 11 September 2024. Quoting ''At present, all tribal communities in Manipur (other than the Nagas) are united and organised under the banner of Kuki-Zo, and we want separate administration for our regions in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal.” are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, as well as the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Kukis form one of the largest hill tribe communities in this region. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh.T. Haokip, 'The Kuki Tribes of Meghalaya: A Study of their Socio-Political Problems', in S.R. Padhi (Ed.). Current Tribal Situation: Strategies for Planning, Welfare and Sustainable Development. Delhi: Mangalam Publications, 2013, p. 85. The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are kindred tribes of the Kukis. Collectively, they are termed the Zo people.
Some fifty tribes of Kuki peoples in India are recognised as in India, based on the dialect spoken by that particular Kuki community as well as their region of origin.
The term came into British usage in 1777, when the chief of Chittagong appealed to the British governor general Warren Hastings for help against Kuki raids from the hills.
The same collection of tribes were called "Chin people" by the Burmese (spelt "Khyangs" in the original Burmese spelling). The British also used the term "Lushais" to refer to the tribes inhabiting the Lushai Hills region to the south of the Imphal Valley, eventually dividing it into separate "Lushai Hills" in India and "Chin Hills" in Burma.
Over time, the British came to distinguish the tribes currently called "Kukis" from the remaining "Lushais". An Intelligence Branch report from 1907 listed Ralte, Paite people, Thadou people, Lakher, Hmar people and Poi people tribes among Kukis. It stated that each of these tribes had its own language, and these languages were unintelligible to the "Lushais".
The Manipuris used the term " Khongjai" to refer to the tribes to the south and southwest of the Imphal Valley, a usage witnessed from 1508. Kuki Research Forum on objective historical position of the Kukis in Manipur, 25 May 2022. "A comparison of the first appearance of the names of different tribes in the Cheitharol is self-evident. For instance, the term Maring first appeared in 1302, Tangkhuns (Tangkhuls) in 1404, Koirengs in 1404, Kyangs (Chins) in 1467, Khongjai in 1508, Sairem in 1523, Takhen (Tripura) in 1533, Tekhao (Assam) in 1536, Anan/Namphou in 1559, Sakang in 1562, Lamkang in 1570, Kapui (Kabui) in 1573, Mayon (Muyon) in 1580, Maram in 1583, Monsang in 1595, Chothe in 1597, Langlong (Ranglong) in 1603, Purum in 1608, Cheeroi in 1641, Kharam in 1672, Aaimon (Aimol) in 1678, and so on. The mention of ‘Khongjai’ in 1503 sic is especially to be noted." This appears to have been a geographical term. The "Old Kuki" tribes in Manipur were referred to by their individual names, which were also partly of geographical origin.
Some Kuki and Chin tribes reject both of these terms as being of colonial origin, and use the self-designation "Zo people", which is a generic term that has variants in most Kuki-Chin dialects. "Zomi people" (meaning "Zo people") is also used. The term "Kuki" is still enthusiastically adopted by the Thadou language-speaking clans. Thus, "Kuki" is sometimes used in this narrow sense to refer to the Thadou-speaking Kukis, with even the Thadou language referred to as the "Kuki language".
By 2023, a consensus seems to have developed among the Kuki tribes of Manipur to use the compound term " Kuki-Zo" to refer to themselves."Second round of talk with Kuki UGs held at Delhi", Imphal Free Press, 21 October 2016. "KNO and UPF submitted the detailed document entitled, "A case Statement for a Separate State for the Kuki/Zo people" to the government of India" Kuki-Zo people hold rally for separate administration in Churachandpur, The Hindu, 21 July 2023.
Per the 1881 census, the Kukis are estimated to have numbered 20,000 in the North Cachar Hills (present-day Dima Hasao district), 15,000 in the Naga Hills (present-day Nagaland), 30,000–40,000 in Manipur and 6,000 in Tipperah (Tripura). In addition, the plains of Cachar district had 6,000 people. The Gazetteer of Manipur (1886), based on the same census, noted that the Kukis of Manipur wee composed of approximately 8,000 "Old Kukis" and 17,000 "New Kukis". Borders of Manipur were expanded after this date to include the Kuki-inhabited southern parts of the present Churachandpur and Chandel district districts, adding further Kuki populations to the state of Manipur. During the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919, the Kukis in Manipur were estimated to number 40,000.
The term "Kuki" to refer to these tribes was introduced by the British in the 1820s. By 1850s, they imported the terminology of "New Kuki" for the Khongjai tribes and "Old Kuki" for the other Kuki tribes such as Kom and Aimol people. The scholars of Kuki Research Forum consider the terminology misleading because the historical record does not justify such a progression in time.
The British testimony regarding Kukis in Manipur was variable. British Commissioner Pemberton wrote in 1835 that the Khongjais stretched along the hills from the south of the Manipur valley to the Arakan Mountains. British Residents, William McCulloch (1844–1863) and Colonel Johnstone (1877–1886), wrote that Khongjais had long been subjects of Manipur, but "new immigrants" of them came through between 1830 and 1840. They "poured into the hill tracts" in large numbers, according to the Residents, driving away the older inhabitants. The Residents believed that these Khongjais were driven north by stronger tribes from the south, and hence settled all around the Imphal Valley.
Scholar Pum Khan Pau notes that, around 1830, when the British established a political agency in Manipur, the area to the south of present-day Manipur (Tonzang Township and Tedim Township townships of present-day Chin State) witnessed the rise of a powerful Sukte people chieftain called Khan Thuam. Along with his son Kam Hau, he embarked upon a territorial expansion, pushing the less powerful tribes towards the border of Manipur. But many tribesmen also submitted to the Suktes, paid tribute, and participated in the expansion process. This period witnessed many raids from the south on the border of Manipur, which was roughly in line with the southern boundary of the Manipur valley. A popular folk song summarised the position of Khan Thuam:
After Khan Thuam's death, his dominion came to be divided between his elder son Kam Hau, based at Mualpi and the younger son Za Pau, based at Tedim. The combined tribe earned the name "Kamhau-Sukte" and became "one of the most dreaded powers in Manipur, Lushai Hills and the Kale-Kabaw Valley".
The domain of the Kamhau-Sukte tribes extended all the way to the south of the Manipur valley, encompassing major portions of the present-day Churachandpur and Chandel district districts, driving the tribes in these districts further north. Their movement threatened the Naga tribes to the north, in particular the Kabui people to the west of the Manipur valley. McCulloch arranged for a line of Kuki settlements to the south of their area to serve as a buffer and armed the settlers. These villages came to be known as "sepoy villages". Cachar–Bishnupur Road, OpenStreetMap, retrieved 5 November 2023. (This road was part of the then Sylhet–Manipur road, which was strategic for the British, needed for the transport of troops to the Burma border). According to McCulloch, sepoy villages were also set up along the southern frontier of the Manipur valley.
According to modern scholars, the British administrators overemphasized the Kukis' "migration from south", because they had inadequate knowledge of the Kukis already present in the hills of Manipur. In addition, some of the larger tribes such as Thadou people are said to have been native to the southern hills (Churachandpur and Chandel districts) that were later added to Manipur territory in the 1890s.
An important landmark in the history of the Kuki people was the arrival of missionaries and the spread of Christianity among them. Missionary activity had considerable social, cultural and political ramifications while the acceptance of Christianity marked a departure from the traditional religion of the Kuki peoples as well as their ancestral customs and traditions. The spread of English education introduced the Kuki people to the "modern era". William Pettigrew, the first foreign missionary, came to Manipur on 6 February 1894 and was sponsored by the American Baptist Mission Union. He, along with Dr. Crozier, worked in the North and the Northeast of Manipur. In the south, Watkins Robert of the Welsh Presbytery mission organised the Indo-Burma Thadou-Kuki Pioneer Mission in 1913. To have a broader scope, the mission's name was changed to North East India General Mission (NEIGM) in 1924.
The first resistance to British hegemony by the Kuki people was the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–19, also known as the Anglo-Kuki War, after which their territory was subjugated by the British. Until their defeat in 1919, the Kukis had been an independent people ruled by their chieftains. The Dobashi, Lengjang Kuki was credited as responsible for preventing the Kukis of the Naga Hills from joining the Kuki Rebellion of Manipur.
During World War II, seeing an opportunity to regain independence, the Kuki fought with the Imperial Japanese Army and the Indian National Army led by Subhas Chandra Bose but the success of the Allied forces over the Axis group dashed their hopes.
The 21 Kuki tribes of Manipur (as per the nomenclature used in the British colonial times) gathered together in 1948 to form an organisation called Kuki Company. They also contributed to the construction of Kuki Inn in Imphal, to serve as the office for the organisation. Soon afterwards, frictions developed over the use of the Thadou language for the business of the organisation. As a result, almost all the tribes other than Thadou Kukis left the Kuki Company, and formed a separate Khulmi National Union. In 1950s, ten Old Kuki tribes changed their affiliation to 'Naga', induced to do so by the Tangkhul people. Seven New Kuki tribes eventually adopted the Zomi identity in the 1990s.
In the 1950s, when the Kaka Kalelkar Commission visited Manipur, there was a concerted attempt by the Kuki and Naga tribes to delineate each tribe separately in the Schedule Tribe Order's list. Consequently, in 1956, the umbrella terms such as 'any Kuki' and 'any Naga' were deleted, and 29 tribes of Manipur were listed individually. This revision completely left out other unlisted tribes from the scheduled tribes list. In other states of India, however, the old classification of "any Kuki tribe" remained. In 2003, the term "any Kuki tribes" was re-added to the list in Manipur as well.
The Lawm was also a centre where young Kuki people learned discipline and social etiquette. After harvest season, the Lawm meet is celebrated with a Lawm-se’l and, as a commemoration, a pillar is erected. The event is accompanied by dance and drinking rice-beer, which sometimes continues for days and nights.
Since the late 20th century, some of these peoples have begun following Messianic Judaism. The Bnei Menashe (, "Sons of Menasseh") are a small group within India's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram; since the late 20th century, they claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted the practice of Judaism.Weil, Shalva. "Double Conversion among the 'Children of Menasseh'" in Georg Pfeffer and Deepak K. Behera (eds) Contemporary Society Tribal Studies, New Delhi: Concept, pp. 84–102. 1996 Weil, Shalva. "Lost Israelites from North-East India: Re-Traditionalisation and Conversion among the Shinlung from the Indo-Burmese Borderlands", The Anthropologist, 2004 . 6(3): 219–233. The Bnei Menashe are made up of Mizo people, Kuki and , who all speak Tibeto-Burman languages, and whose ancestors migrated into northeast India from Burma mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are called Chin in Burma. In the late 20th century, an Israeli rabbi investigating their claims named them Bnei Menashe, based on their account of descent from Menasseh. Of the 3.7 million people living in these two northeast states only about 9,000 belong to the Bnei Menashe, several thousands have emigrated to Israel. Some have supported other movements to separate from India.
Due to the close proximity to Muslim-majority Bengal, a Kuki Muslim community has also developed. They are said to be descendants of Kuki men who had married Bengali Muslim women, a relationship requiring the husband to be a Muslim. They are mostly centred around the village of North Chandrapur in the Tripuri city of Udaipur. Notable Kuki Muslims include Khirod Ali Sardar of Chandrapur and Ali Mia of Sonamura. The community has been subject to scorn by other Kukis.
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