Stop fake history and propaganda being spread in the name of Zo, which was derived from Mizo nomenclature. Zo is not our historical or ancestral name. It is a recent political construct created in Mizoram in the 1950s. Our ancestors never identified themselves as Zo. This is a deliberate attempt to erase our ancient identity and replace it with a new political label to suit a new political agenda.
Kuki is not a name given by the British, as some claim to distort history. Our name is ancient and sacred. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata as Kirata Kuki warriors and in the 15th century Rajmala chronicle of Tripura, where Kukis are described as the most powerful and loyal army of the Tripura Maharajas. The British did not create our name, they only recorded what already existed, first in 1777, centuries before the term Mizo was even invented. Our identity is not 70 years old, it is thousands of years old, rooted deeply in this land.
Kuki is our identity by blood, by history and by Constitution. It is our Scheduled Tribe name recognized by the Government of India and across the world. This is the name our forefathers carried with pride. Our chiefs are Kuki Chiefs, our land is Kukiland, our customs are Kuki customs, our language is Kuki. No one can rename us or make us a sub-tribe of a newly created nomenclature for their political convenience.
Our history is written in blood and sacrifice. Our forefathers did not fight as Zo. They led the Great Kuki Revolt of 1860 in Tripura and the Anglo-Kuki War of 1917-1919 against the British Empire as Kuki. For three years, our chiefs and warriors fought the strongest empire in the world to protect our land and freedom. These wars are recognized as freedom movements of India by the Government of India. There was never an Anglo-Zo War. History knows us as Kuki warriors.
The Kuki people living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, in Northeast India and in Western Myanmar, and the land known as Kukiland is a historical and geographical truth. It is not a claim, it is documented by British maps where Chittagong Hill Tracts was marked as Kuki Country, and by official government records. From Chittagong Hill Tracts to the Chin Hills and across the Northeast, we are one people, one blood, one root.
The lost Kuki Country, which history approves as ‘Kuki Independent Hill Country’ recorded by the British colonial administration and in world history, can be restored only in the name of Kuki and by Kuki historical records. No other name has that historical legitimacy. If we abandon the name Kuki, we abandon the map, we abandon the history, and we abandon the land that our ancestors protected with their blood. The road to Kukiland goes only through the name Kuki.
Whether Mizo, Zomi, Chin, Hmar, Bawm, Darlong, Zou, Gangte, Kom, Simte, Aimol, Chorei, etc., all who live under the British map of Kukiland are historically and geographically Kuki. These are our clan and dialectal names within the larger Kuki nation, just as branches belong to one tree. The British colonial records clearly marked our entire ancestral domain as Kuki Country, and every community inhabiting that land was recorded as part of the Kuki race. We were never sub-tribes of Zo, we have always been tribes of the great Kuki nation.
Today, attempts are being made to distort our history by calling Kuki a sub-tribe of Zo. This is false and an insult to our forefathers’ sacrifice and our history. Kuki is our nation. We appeal to all our brothers and sisters, know your roots, respect your ancestors, and stand firm in your identity. We respect our Mizo brothers, but we are not Mizo. We were Kuki, we are Kuki, and we will remain Kuki till the end.
