Manipur: Why ZRA is acting hostile to MHA’s proposal to merge camps

In June this year, talks with the Suspension of Operation (SoO) groups under the umbrella of the United People’s Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) were renewed in New Delhi.

Ever since the 2023 Manipur crisis, there has been a lull in the dialogue process between the groups and the Government of India. The extension of the SoO agreement has been put on hold since it ended in February 2024.

Till now, the renewal of the suspension agreement remains unclear, even after a lapse of more than a year. This uncertainty has led to increased tensions in the state, with various stakeholders expressing concerns over security and governance.

Rounds of talks were held both formally and informally over the past month. However, the effectiveness of these discussions has been hindered by deep-rooted mistrust and differing agendas among the parties involved.

In the latest development in the process, it is learned that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, has put forward a proposal that the UPF and the KNO relocate and merge some of their SoO camps. There are a total of 14 such camps.

MHA is led by its representative A.K. Mishra, Advisor to the Home Ministry on Northeast Affairs and the key lead in the SoO talks. Mishra’s proposal for reducing the number of SoO camps was said to be a step towards solving the ongoing Manipur crisis.

This did not go down well with the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), one of the SoO groups of the UPF (Zomi). The ZRA vehemently opposed the shifting or merging of their camps.

A leader of the ZRA and a delegate for the talks with MHA, Ketheos Zomi, categorically stated that they cannot agree to the suggestion of merging or reducing the number of their SoO camps.

“In these long 17 years of the dialogue process, such issues have never cropped up,” said Ketheos, who is also a member of the JMG (Joint Monitoring Group).

In fact, the idea of reducing the number of SoO camps has come up in the aftermath of the violent conflict since May 2023 between the Meiteis and the Zomis, Kukis, and their kindred tribes.

Meiteis have accused and have been consistently pointing fingers at the KNO and the UPF groups for creating the crisis. Meitei CSOs, intellectuals, and the Meitei public have been calling out these SoO groups as the key players in the ongoing Manipur conflict.

In response to these accusations, the MHA is said to have made the proposal to move or even close down some of the SoO camps. Reportedly, some of these SoO camps are located in disputed areas where there are claims and counterclaims by Kukis, Zomis, and Meiteis.

Some camps are said to be located close to Meitei areas; this is considered a threat by the Meiteis.

Ketheos did agree that there are some camps located near urban or the plain valley areas.

“But our camps are far away from any Meitei areas,” countered the ZRA leader, reasserting that there is no logic to merging or reducing the UPF (Zomi) camps in Manipur South.

The UPF (Zomi) has three camps: Camp Muvanlai, Camp Sinai, and Camp Phaiva. These are located more than 100 km away from Imphal. These camps are occupied by the ZRA, ZDF, and ZRF groups.

A.K. Mishra’s rationale for merging the camps was also supposedly a suggestion for better management of the camps. But Ketheos is not convinced. “We have more than 700 cadre registrations,” said the ZRA leader. “How can we manage the camps if we suddenly cram them in a single camp?” he countered.

Elaborating on the UPF (Zomi) SoO camps, Ketheos further stated that the camps are maintained by themselves and that the Government of India has not extended any support for the camps. “We did not get any support from GoI, only minimal support for one camp only,” he said.

Meanwhile, the stipend for the cadres has not been paid since November 2022.

The main operational area of the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) and its associate groups, the ZDF (Zomi Defence Force) and the ZRF (Zomi Revolutionary Front), is in South Manipur, in the border areas of India and Myanmar.

“The geopolitics should not be overlooked or ignored,” emphasized Ketheos, who is also the Secretary of External Affairs of the ZRO (Zomi Re-Unification Organisation), the political platform of the Zomis. “We need to keep an alert on the situation in the neighborhood as well,” he added.

The ZRA is one of the key stakeholders in the dialogue and peace process with the government. They play a significant role in the maintenance of law and order in towns like Lamka and in the district of Churachandpur at large. The recent development of the MHA proposing to reduce camps has annoyed Ketheos. “Doesn’t the Government of India realize and acknowledge our relevance and role?” questioned the ZRA leader.

The UPF and the KNO, two umbrella armed groups of the Zomi and Kuki, signed an agreement for Suspension of Operation in 2008 with the Government of India. Initially, the agreement was tripartite, including the Manipur Government as one party. The Manipur government under Biren Singh had pulled out of the tripartite talks in early 2023.

As a member of the UPF, the ZRA has been actively participating in the political dialogue. The political dialogue that began in 2016 has not had a smooth ride. The ongoing Manipur crisis added to an even more rough and uphill task. Meanwhile, the UPF and KNO have reviewed their demand. They have moved on from “more autonomy demands, like a territorial council,” to a “separate administration for the Zomis and the Kukis.”

Both the UPF and the KNO insisted that the group did not demand anything “outside of the Indian Constitution.” That they are not secessionist, unlike any other insurgent or rebel groups in the state of Manipur.

Even as disagreements surface, ZRA leader Ketheos is open to negotiation. He says, “We are committed to the peace roadmap; we are always ready for negotiation.”

ZRA is the armed wing of the Zomi Re-Unification Organisation (ZRO), the political platform of the conglomeration of all the Zomi tribes. More than seven tribes are in this conglomeration of the Zomis.

According to Ketheos, Zomi organization(s) follow strict rules of “collective decision.” The opposition to the merging of the SoO camps also comes from the various Zomi constituent organizations and Zomi leaderships. “A decision to this effect was taken in public consultation on June 23, 2025,” mentioned Ketheos.

“Even the cadres’ opinions are considered for any decisions,” said Ketheos, underlining the importance of cadres’ involvement in decisions on the ground.

A written representation dated July 3, 2025, addressed to MHA’s A.K. Mishra, mentioned that the UPF (Zomi) SoO camps are established based on a set of strategic, security, administrative, and ethnic considerations jointly agreed upon by the Government of India, the Government of Manipur, and UPF (Zomi) groups under the terms of the SoO Agreement. The camp locations were mutually agreed upon by all concerned parties, including security forces, to ensure legitimacy under the SoO framework.

It may also be mentioned that the Zomi groups do not accept the term “Kuki-Zo” that has gained prominence ever since the Manipur violence.

In a written document submitted to the MHA, the ZRO and its constituent bodies have stated that the term Kuki-Zo used by the MHA is an exclusivist approach that subsumes the Zomi identity. The organization insisted that Zomi is a generic, indigenous, and self-ascribed name. The organisation insisted that “Zomi” is the right usage which should be acknowledged by the MHA and the media.

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