The revised Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement signed between the Ministry of Home Affairs, Manipur government and 24 Kuki-Zo insurgent groups on Thursday (September 4, 2025) lays down the mechanism to monitor activities of cadres, including a requirement that they obtain Aadhaar cards, according to details of the pact accessed by The Hindu.
According to the 2008 SoO pact, signed in the aftermath of the Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s, around 2,200 cadres under the umbrella of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) were entitled to a stipend of ₹6,000 per month, which was stopped since ethnic violence erupted in the State on May 3, 2023.
The revised pact, valid for a year, says stipend will be paid only through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts to those members who are present in the camps during inspection. Photo identity cards shall be provided by the Manipur Police, it says.
The agreement states that the KNO and UPF shall have six camps each, instead of the 14 they operate presently and the camps shall not be located close to populated areas, National Highways and within areas vulnerable to conflict. The camps are to be located at reasonable distance from the Myanmar border as well as inter-State boundaries.
