"Kuki is not a nation. In Zalengam, an independent county, whosoever tries to make Kuki a nation within India shall be considered anti-national, anti-Indian, or an enemy of India, as the Union Cabinet has already approved the inclusion of 'Any Kuki tribes' in the ST list of Manipur," says the Kuki Tribes Recognition Demand Committee on 11/07/2002. As of today, the term 'Kuki' applies only to 28,342 individuals (as per Census of India, 2011) categorized under 'Any Kuki tribes' (AKT) who were born in 2003 in the state of Manipur.