Manipur: Nagas' district rollback demand sparks fear of fresh tension

Senior Kuki leader and MLA Paolenlal Haokip described the Centre’s decision to hold tripartite talks regarding the demand to roll back the creation of seven districts in Manipur as a 'seed for further conflict and bloodshed.'

Demanding an immediate reversal of an eight-year-old action, an apex Naga tribal body called for a 48-hour “total bandh” under its jurisdiction starting at midnight on October 3, prompting the Centre to extend an olive branch.

It appointed AK Mishra, advisor (northeast), as the home ministry’s representative in the proposed talks.

The districts were carved out of the existing nine districts in December 2016 by the state’s erstwhile Congress government to achieve “administrative efficiency”.

Nagas peeved

The move peeved the Nagas, the state’s second-largest ethnic group after the majority Meiteis. The bone of contention was particularly the creation of Kuki-Zomi-dominated Kangkpokpi and Tengnoupal districts, which bifurcated Naga-majority districts.

Kangpokpi was created by taking the Sadar Hills region from the Naga-dominated Senapati district.

Similarly, Tengnoupal was carved out of three Naga-dominated districts: Ukhrul, Tamenglong, and Chandel.

Highways blockaded

The apex body of the Naga tribes of Manipur, the United Naga Council (UNC), and the powerful militant group NSCN (I-M) opposed the bifurcation, alleging it encroached on their ancestral land by including some Naga villages in non-Naga areas.

The UNC and other Naga groups enforced a 139-day blockade of two highways, the lifelines of Manipur that pass-through Naga areas.

Tripartite talks were initiated between the government of India, the Manipur government, and the UNC to placate the Nagas.

“As many as ten rounds of talks were held on the issue, the last being on March 9, 2019,” said the UNC in a statement.

Concrete proposal expected

It was agreed in the last round of parleys that the Manipur government would present a concrete proposal at the next meeting, which was supposed to occur in the last week of July 2019.

“The Naga people believe in dialogue and have therefore repeatedly appealed to the concerned authorities to redress our grievances through talks. However, having received no concrete response to our pleas thus far, the Naga people have resolved to call for a 48-hour total bandh to register our resentment and demand an immediate rollback of the arbitrary creation of seven new districts,” the UNC stated.

Although the Centre has named its representative for the talks, it did not specify when the discussions would formally resume.

The timing of the revival of talks after about five years has raised questions among Kuki-Zo leaders regarding its motives.

They suspect that the state government is behind the revival of the rollback demand, which is an attempt to pit the Nagas against Kukis, with New Delhi complicit in it.

For about a year and a half, Manipur has been reeling from ethnic strife between the majority Meitei and the tribal Kuki communities.

The Nagas have maintained neutrality in the conflict so far. However, the Kuki-Zomi groups' demand for a separate administrative unit comprising areas dominated by their community, following the ethnic violence, has raised territorial anxieties among the Nagas.

'Govt must not ignore crisis'

Dismissing such anxieties, Haokip told The Federal that it was the majority (referring to the Meitei) narrative woven by the state government headed by Biren Singh.

“If the government of India ignores the ongoing crisis, indulges in the majority narrative, and tries to please those aligning with it, it will sow the seeds of future conflict and bloodshed,” the legislator said.

The solution to the territorial anxieties would be to create three separate administrative units for Meiteis, Nagas, and Kuki-Zos, he added.

Accusing the state government of complicating the ongoing conflict, Hoinu from the Kuki Women's Human Rights Organisation said that attempts were being made to draw the Nagas into the conflict to corner Kuki-Zos from both sides.

“Only a section of the Nagas supports the rollback of the districts. Not all Meiteis would agree to it, as many Meitei areas also benefited from the creation of the new districts,” she added.