Any Kuki Tribes is a category of Scheduled Tribes (ST) in India, recognised in several Northeastern states: Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. In all states except Manipur, the category encompasses all Kuki people (also called Kuki-Zo people).
In Manipur, Kuki and Naga people have been recognised under individual tribe names since 1956. So 'Any Kuki Tribes' and 'Any Naga Tribes' were removed from the list of Scheduled Tribes in that year. In 2003, 'Any Kuki Tribes' was added again, in order to cover people that do not fall under the listed tribes. In particular, Thadou language-speaking Kukis who do not regard themselves as "Thadous" have been using the 'Any Kuki Tribes' category.
History In the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, the Government of India, listed the categories "Any Kuki Tribes", "Any Mizo (Lushai) Tribes", and "Any Naga Tribes", among others, as Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the state of Assam.THE CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED TRIBES) ORDER, 1950, anagrasarkalyan.gov.in, Government of India, 2017, p. 172. These categories covered Kuki people, Mizo people and Naga people respectively. The very same categories were also listed for what were then 'Part C' states (Chief Commissioner's Provinces) of Manipur and Tripura (with some simplifications in the latter).THE CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED TRIBES) (PART C STATES) ORDER, 1951, The Gazette of India, 20 September 1951 These original categories continue in Assam, and they have also been inherited by the new states formed out of Assam, such as Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. In Manipur, however, special circumstances arose.
Manipur When the Backward Classes Commission reviewed the social classes in Manipur in 1953, there were concerted attempts by the Kuki groups to list language or dialect-based identities as separate tribal categories. Their demands were accepted by the commission, and in the 1956 modification order, the 'Any Kuki Tribes' and 'Any Naga Tribes' categories were replaced by 28 tribes in Manipur (making a total of 29 along with 'Any Mizo Tribes').
A problem arose in Manipur's classification with regard to 'Thadou', which was listed as one of the 29 "tribes". According to scholars, Thadou is really a clan rather than a tribe. Clans are named after their founders, and the tribal custom dictates that the founder of a clan cannot usurp the legacy of his ancestors or elders. So, the Thadou identity is rejected by clans senior to Thadou (including Lenthang, Lunkim, Changsan, Thangeo, Doungel and others). The 1956 order compelled them to identify as "Thadous" in order to obtain a Scheduled Tribe certificate, which they found objectionable.
After several representations, in 2003, 'Any Kuki Tribes' was reinserted into the ST list of Manipur in order to enable such Thadou language-speaking clans from availing the ST status without having to identify as "Thadou". Scholar H. Kham Khan Suan opined that it would have been far better to merge 'Thadou' and 'Kuki' under one common label, 'Thadou-Kuki'. Even though people from any tribe under the traditional Kuki umbrella could theoretically identify as 'Any Kuki Tribes', in practice, it is only the Thadou-speaking Kukis that did so. According to the Kuki Tribes Council, clans such as Doungel, Khongsai, Haokip, Touthang, Baite, Chonghang, Hangmi and Lhungdim adopted the 'Any Kuki Tribes' identity.Kuki Tribe Council Meeting Kouna, Khalvontawi, 18 June 2022. In the 2011 census, roughly 28,000 people identified under 'Any Kuki Tribes' compared to 216,000 people that identified as 'Thadou'.
Distribution People of 'Any Kuki Tribes' are present in all the states of Northeast India except Arunachal Pradesh. As per 2011 census, their distribution is as follows:A-11: State primary census abstract (PCA) for individual scheduled tribes, Census of India, 2011. (Tables for Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura) In Nagaland, the listing is for "Kuki", and in other states, it is for "Any Kuki Tribes". +StatePopulationAssam33,399Meghalaya14,275Nagaland18,768Mizoram45,774Tripura10,965Manipur28,342 In the case of Manipur, this number is in addition to other Kuki tribes that are individually categorised as ST. All the Kuki tribes together, also called "Kuki-Zo tribes", total 419,855 people in Manipur.
Disputes The recognition of 'Any Kuki Tribes' as a Scheduled Tribe category in Manipur caused increased competition between the 'Thadou' and 'Kuki' identities. Both the groups have apex organisations called "Thadou Inpi" and "Kuki Inpi" respectively, as well as separate student bodies, called "Thadou Students Association" and "Kuki Students' Organisation". In 2015, Thadou Inpi alleged that the Kuki Inpi was propagating a "unitary concept" of 'Any Kuki Tribes', which it labelled as detrimental to the unity of the Kuki community.Thadou Inpi reacts against Kuki Inpi Manipur claim, Imphal Free Press, 3 October 2015. It criticised the addition of 'Any Kuki Tribes' to the ST list.Thadou Inpi clarifies on KTC and TKSU, Imphal Free Press, 20 August 2018. Subsequently in 2021, it called for its deletion from the ST list, on the grounds that Kuki is not a "tribe" but rather a generic term for a number of tribes. It also claimed that the addition of 'Any Kuki Tribes' in the ST list violates Article 342 of the Constitution (as interpreted by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes), which allegedly requires "distinct culture, dialect and economic pursuit" for tribe recognition.Thadou Inpi against ST tag to 'Kuki', The Sangai Express (via e-pao.net), 30 July 2021. By 2023, it appeared to moderate its stance, labelling Kuki Inpi Manipur as the apex body responsible for 'Any Kuki Tribes'.'Thadou Inpi not part of KIM', Imphal Free Press, 13 March 2023. However, a rival organisation called "Thadou Inpi Manipur" was created in November 2024, which took to campaigning against 'Any Kuki Tribes' much more vociferously.Thadous reject being part of Kuki group, The Times of India, 3 November 2024. 'Remove Any Kuki Tribes From ST List, Help Organise Peace Talks': Thadou Body Meets Manipur Governor, NDTV News, 10 February 2025.
Meanwhile, the Manipur state cabinet under the leadership of chief minister N. Biren Singh, is said to have taken a decision in October 2018 to recommend the deletion of 'Any Kuki Tribes' from the ST list of Manipur. This only came to light three years later, with the Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) objecting to the move.Kuki student bodies appeal to halt deletion of 'Any Kuki Tribes', The Sangai Express, 19 March 2021. KSO also conducted a bandh (shutdown) on 26–27 March 2021 to protest this decision.KSO calls for total statewide shutdown on March 26–27 in Manipur, Imphal Free Press, 23 March 2021. There is no information about any action taken on the 2018 decision, but the next cabinet of Biren Singh made the same decision again in 2023 and wrote to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry asking for deletion of 'Any Kuki Tribes'. The Tribal Affairs Ministry responded with some queries and a request for a full proposal along with an ethnographic study.Debanish Achom, Manipur Proposed To Remove 'Any Kuki Tribes' From ST List. Tribal Affairs Ministry Says..., NDTV News, 24 November 2025. The 2023 Manipur violence erupted a few months later, pitting the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities against each other. In the course of the violence, the Biren Singh government as well as the Meitei community at large accused the Kuki-Zo people of harbouring "illegal immigrants" from Myanmar, among other allegations.Ritika Chopra, ‘Morning, night, 12, 1... I am in touch with Amit Shahji... He backs balance, Meiteis, Kukis ko same tarah se deal karna hai’: Manipur CM N Biren Singh, The Indian Express, 10 October 2023. The issue of 'Any Kuki Tribes' was also mixed into these allegations.Abhinay Lakshman, Centre asks to study delisting Kukis, Zomis from ST list, The Hindu, 8 January 2024. 10:56 pmRokibuz Zaman, Explained: The demand to strip the Kuki-Zo communities of Scheduled Tribe status in Manipur, Scroll.in, 21 January 2024.
In July 2024, the state government responded to the queries from the Tribal Affairs Ministry: In response to the query as to what would happen to those currently under 'Any Kuki Tribes' if the proposal goes through, the state government said that they would be recognized under the remaining existing list of subtribes. In response to the query as to which communities were currently covered under 'Any Kuki Tribes', the state government said that it did not collect such information and asked for an exemption, invoking the fact that a similar exemption was granted for the 1956 tribe modification order. It claimed that no sub-tribe was left out when the 1956 order was enacted. The state government also stated that it saw no need for an ethnographic study since it was not adding a new community to the ST list. only asking for "removing redundant nomenclature". Once again it asked for an exemption from ethnographic study. The government explained its reasons for asking for the deletion with the claim that 'Any Kuki Tribes' in the ST list had enabled "illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries" to enlist under this category. It saw this as an issue of "national security".
The Union Tribal Affairs University appears to have kept the matter "on hold" due to the "sensitive nature of the prevailing situation" in the state, referring to the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
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