Pradyot Debbarma urges Meitei-Kuki unity to resolve Manipur crisis

Imphal, Aug 10: TIPRA Motha Party founder and royal scion of Tripura, Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, has urged the Meitei and Kuki communities of Manipur to rise above political divisions and work together to resolve the state’s ongoing ethnic crisis.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a World Indigenous Day function on Saturday, Debbarma said that while the Centre has made some efforts to address the situation, much more needs to be done. “The Centre has done a lot, but they need to do more. They cannot wait for things to change on their own. A healing touch has to come and, more importantly, they should not allow national parties to play politics with your emotions,” he said.

Highlighting the need for dialogue and local initiative, Debbarma stressed that the solution must come from within Manipur itself. “If you want to solve the problems, brothers and sisters have got to sit together and come up with a solution. Nobody in Delhi cares too much about Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram or Sikkim because we have one or two Lok Sabha seats,” he remarked.

He pointed out that the focus of national parties remains on larger states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, where political stakes are higher. “People will come to Imphal and Churachandpur to show sympathy, but eventually the problem has to be solved by our own people,” Debbarma noted.

Calling on both Meiteis and Kukis to see through attempts to divide them, he warned: “Unite against those who have divided you. The real people who are playing politics with you are sitting comfortably in Delhi.”

- PTI