The term Kuki refers to a major ethnic group and a concept of a hill tribe community primarily residing in Northeast India, particularly in Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. They are kindred tribes to the Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram, and are collectively termed the Zo people. The name "Kuki" itself is an exonym used by Bengalis, with its use witnessed in the chronicles of Tripura as early as the reign of Dhanya Manikya (1490–1515).
The primary mechanism connecting the Kuki people to the Indian state is their recognition as Scheduled Tribes (ST), which makes them eligible for the benefits of affirmative action under the Constitution. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Part C States) Order, 1951, initially included "any Kuki tribe" as an umbrella term for STs in Assam, Manipur, and Tripura. While this umbrella term was deleted in Manipur in 1956 and 29 tribes were listed individually, it was re-added in 2003.
The concept has changed significantly due to the ongoing Kuki-Meitei ethnic clashes in Manipur, which began around May 3, 2023. A major point of contention is the demand, primarily from the Meitei community, to strip the Kuki-Zo communities of their Scheduled Tribe status. This demand is based on the contention that the Kuki-Zos are not original inhabitants of Manipur. In response, the Manipur government has formed a committee to re-examine how various tribes, including Kuki and Chin, were listed as STs. This move is seen by Kuki-Zo bodies like the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) as an attempt to deprive them of their rights and land.