Tribal peoples in Manipur have been maintaining their commons under customary law. Interacting with outsiders has always led to the contestation of their customs, traditions, and beliefs. Tribal societies continue to administer their villages under customary law on the tenet of equity. Their law has even resisted the policies of Manipuri kings and the British administration. In the present day, tribal customary law stands challenged by the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960.

‘Ministry says villagers were already provided rehabilitation’

A complete U-turn in a matter of one month by the Union Ministry for Tribal Affairs (MOTA) on the application of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) now promises to remove hurdles before the controversial Mapithel Multipurpose Project in Manipur, which has been under construction without mandatory green clearances for eight years.

An apex social body of the Kuki community, Kuki National Assembly (KNA) has decided to take strong action against poachers found inside the Kaziranga National Park.

The impasse in Manipur, which represents the festering unrest in the entire Northeast, needs a caring administrative policy, not bullets and raids