The Kuki militants themselves are an ethnic Kuki, one of the tribes of Manipur, although Kuki by itself is not the only ethnic group in the Manipur region.

Sometimes in the past, they have suffered from problems like the ones that are found with the Meiteis and Nagas. These tensions have regularly blown up to involve actual violence, resulting in the formation of groups that claim themselves to be defending the Kuki interest.

The major KNLA is just among the groups that spearhead horrific acts of violence to seek greater power and recognition of the Kuki people’s status.

The KNLA has been accused of other organisations having been involved in the commission of violent exercises such as assault on security forces and other ethnic groups. Many times, their actions have led to violence that further destabilised the region. The social and political tension brought about by groups such as the Kuki militants.

The Kuki community has long complained of political marginalisation in Manipur state, of which the Meitei people have considerable political clout. The Kukis have been rioting due to problems regarding land ownership, political enfranchisement, and non-recognition of their culture.

However, it is important to understand that ethnic conflicts in Manipur have a backdrop into the pre-colonial period. This region has observed some insurgent movements, and the Kuki militants are, on most occasions, painted as a group that is standing up against other ethnic groups. For many Kukis, this particular narrative makes much sense and gives the militants their specific identity and mission.

Financial assistance to Kuki Militants

As fundamental to every insurgency and conflict elsewhere in the world, one of the most important factors that has to be understood is the funding of the Kuki militants. Like many militant groups, both the Kuki associations seem to have their funding come from local and additional funding from foreign places.

• Local Contributions: Most of these groups get financial support from local companies and people who are actively supporting their agenda. This can involve cash from the highly placed individuals or businesses that stand to be threatened by competitors in organisations. The militants frequently depict themselves as the Kuki defenders, which may be backed by local people.
• Extortion and Illegal Activities: It has emerged that some infiltrated Kuki militants are involved in cases of extortion whereby they demanded cash from business entities and individuals within the region in case they wanted them harmed. Further, the key funding sources for such groups, including those engaging in drug trafficking business, have also been mentioned. The northeastern region of India has been seeing this amount of drugs passing through, and some militant outfits have not shunned this profitable business.
• External Support: It is also accused of receiving funding from sympathetic sources outside the country, more so from the Kuki expatriates. These funds can be used to execute militant activities, trainings, or buy weapons and other equipment for use in the comma and operations. Nevertheless, measuring the amount of this support from outside remains problematic and continues to be a matter of research.

Conclusion

The Kuki militants are an ethnic group in Manipur that expresses an identity through armed conflict and brings together its history of conflict and socio-political characteristics. Their sources of income and funds include local shares as well as the proceeds generated from unlawful activities, further pointing out the reasons why the actual causes of militancy in the region cannot be effectively dealt with.

And so as the events play themselves out, it becomes important to know not only why militants such as the Kuki are fighting, but more importantly, what sustains them and how the conflicts ravaging the northeast region of India can be solved in the long term.

The way to a resolution will involve talking and acknowledging those rights and the need to address the root of that kind of militancy.