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Kuki National Front

This article is about armed outfit in Manipur, India. Not to be confused with Kuki-Chin National Front.

Kuki National Front (KNF) is a Kuki militant organisation operating in the state of Manipur, India. Its professed goal is to achieve a 'Kukiland' state within the framework of the Indian constitution.[1] At present, it is under the umbrella group United People's Front (UPF) along with a Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Government of India.[2][3]

History

The Kuki National Front was formed on 18 May 1988[a] at Molnoi village along the India–Myanmar border. Nehlun Kipgen was its founder chairman.[1] The base of the organisation is nevertheless Kangpokpi in Manipur, India.[6] The objective of the organisation has been to achieve a separate 'Kukiland' state within India consisting of the districts of Sadar Hills (Kangpokpi), Churachandpur–Pherzawl and parts of Tamenglong–Chandel and Ukhrul.[7][4][5]

Some 300 KNF guerrillas are said to have undergone training with the Kachin Independence Army in Myanmar.[8] They may have also collaborated with United Liberation Front of Assam for armed training.[9] From 1992, the KNF, along with the Kuki National Army (KNA, a separate organisation based in Churachandpur) locked horns with the Naga militant group NSCN-IM, as part of the Kuki-Naga clashes.[8]

Nehlun Kipgen was killed in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Kangpokpi area. After this, KNF split into multiple factions, including:

  • KNF (Military Council), headed by Hemlal alias Th. German,
  • KNF (President group) headed by Semtinthang alias Thangboi Kipgen, and
  • KNF (Zogam) headed by Joshua Haokip [6][10]

After some internecine attempts in the 2000s, eleven militant groups gathered under the umbrella of Kuki National Organisation (KNO) in 2008, which included KNF (Military Council) and KNF (Zogam). The KNF (President group) formed another umbrella organisation called United People's Front (UPF). All these groups entered into a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with the Government of India and the Government of Manipur in August 2008.[11] These groups are now collectively referred to as "SoO groups".

Notes

  1. ^ The year is mentioned as 1987 in some sources.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Question of Kukiland" (interview of K. S. Bonsing), North-East Sun, 1–14 October 2000.
  2. ^ Kom, Militancy and Negotiations (2011), p. 81, Table 1.
  3. ^ Haokip, Politics of Tribe Identity with reference to the Kukis (2012), p. 69.
  4. ^ a b Sinha, Lost Opportunities (2007), pp. 120–121.
  5. ^ a b Kuki National Front reiterates Kukiland demand on 25th anniversary, The Times of India, 20 May 2012. ProQuest 1014349503
  6. ^ a b The search for Kukiland, Imphal Free Press, 16 December 2012. ProQuest 1238765740
  7. ^ Kom, Militancy and Negotiations (2011), pp. 77–78.
  8. ^ a b Szajkowski & Terranova, Revolutionary and Dissident Movements (2004), p. 174.
  9. ^ The Kuki won't crumble, Sunday, 2-8 April 1995, page 94.
  10. ^ Zou, Emergent Micro-National Communities (2012), pp. 323, 325.
  11. ^ Kom, Militancy and Negotiations (2011), pp. 71–72.
Sources