Newmai News Network
SENAPATI, August 24
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ass rallies will be held in the four Naga dominated district headquarters of Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Chandel in Manipur on August 30 under the aegis of the United Naga Council (UNC) demanding from the Government of India for expediting an acceptable and honourable settlement of the Indo-Naga issue. The rallies will also be in protest against the alleged militarisation of Naga areas particularly Ukhrul district by Government of Manipur with Manipur State forces in utter disrespect of the Indo-Naga cease-fire. The UNC’s rallies will also be in protest against the Government pf Manipur’s alleged disrespect for the democratic process of tripartite talk on alternative arrangement which has progressed to a logical stage. The UNC further said the August 30 rallies will also be in protest against the unabated aggressive policies of the Government of Manipur to encroach upon the ancestral lands of the Nagas and tribals through Laws, Acts & Notifications to subvert the protective provisions of the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (MLR & LR) Act, 1960.The UNC press communique said, a joint memorandum on the above points of demand and protests will be submitted by the Tribe Hohos and frontal organisation of the respective districts through the Government of India agencies to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and also dispatched through post.
The UNC then appealed to all churches, Christian leaders, frontal and regional organisations, village chiefs and village councils and village authorities, students and youths leaders to take up the moral responsibilities for ensuring the maximum participation of the people in the rally. It advised the Naga people to be vigilant against any attempt of the adversaries to discredit the peoples’ movement for our political aspirations by sabotaging the democratic civil action.
Harping on the issues, the UNC said that the social divide on communal lines between the Nagas and Meiteis that has become deeply entrenched in the present state of Manipur has been acknowledged with concern by none other than Dr Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister of India in his address in the 40th conference of Director Generals of Police (DGPs) on August 26, 2010.
According to the UNC, there is a democratic process of dialogue at the tripartite level of the Government of Manipur, Government of India and the Nagas of Manipur under the aegis of the UNC on the demand for an alternative arrangement outside the communal Governmemt of Manipur pending settlement of the Indo-Naga issue and it has logically progressed to a stage where a high powered committee would be set up by the Government of India to translate the demand into a political reality. But the Government of Manipur under Mr Ibobi has intensified their communal policies and actions to legitimise the destruction of the traditional institutions and usurpation of the ancestral lands of the tribals and the Nagas through legislations, administrative orders and notifications.
The Government of Manipur has moved for establishment of Village Development Committee (VDC) in each village in the name of development. The VDCs are to be chosen by the general body of the village but without the involvement nor endorsement of the village council/village authority, the ultimate traditional authority of the village. Instead of strengthening the village council/village authority, a parallel body with development function is to be put in place to render the Chiefs, Khulakpas and Khunpus impotent and irrelevant . The village which is the primary polity of the tribals is being pushed into a conflict and division situation. This is a move to destroy the village republic system of the Nagas and the tribals.
Although Manipur Land Revenue & Land Reforms Act, 1960 (MLR&LR Act) is not applicable in the tribal area of the hills, the GoM after passing the bill for a Separate Revenue Directorate for the Hills in 2012, has notified for extending the jurisdiction of the Revenue Tribunal Manipur to Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Chandel and Churachandpur and the District Judge, Senapati has been appointed as the Presiding Officer, Revenue Tribunal Senapati. Every Naga and tribal village have their own distinct territorial boundary and jurisdiction. The tribals have their own way of life and to them the land and the people cannot be parted as their culture, tradition and identity are interwoven with the land. The constitution of Revenue tribunals in the tribal districts is a subtle move to get around the MLR&LR Act and legitimize the usurpation of the ancestral lands of the tribals.
The New Land Use Policy of Manipur (2014) (NLUP) based on the Mizoram model is being taken up by the Government of Manipur ostensibly to improve productivity and minimise demand on land resources. Mizoram has 100% tribal population and their experience therefore will be universal in terms of legal implication on ownership of land. In the state of Manipur, where 41 % of the population is tribal, who owns 90% of the geographical area of the state, the NLUP is just another ploy to dilute the land ownership of the tribal people. There are no Khas land in the Naga territory in Manipur. But the NLUP is roping in the Village Development Committees, the newly conceptualised instrument for abolishing the village republic system of the Nagas and the tribals and to encroach upon our lands.
According to the UNC, 120 tribal villages under Saikul Sub-division of Senapati district has been included by the Government of Manipur under various police stations of Imphal East District and Thoubal District, both of which are valley districts. “Why can the tribal villages not continue under the original Police stations or if felt necessary, why cannot new police stations be opened up in the respective districts?,” the UNC questioned. It then said The Government of Manipur seeks to control the tribals and their land through its policing machinery by tagging the above villages to Police Stations of the Imphal valley districts and by diluting the distinct district boundaries.
It then stated that there is clear intent to alienate the tribals from their traditional land and weaken their village republics by stealth and seemingly benevolent policies and administrative orders and notifications and to also deprive them of every opportunity. Free Prior Informed Consent of the tribals, the stakeholders are not obtained. It is an alarming situation where the tribals have to fight every steps of the way to political empowerment, the Naga body added.
According to the UNC, Manipur chief minister Ibobi Singh has gone one record to maintain that there are no Nagas in Manipur and no land belongs to Nagas. “Our identity as a people and our ownership of our ancestral land has been denied by the Chief Minister of the state clearly disowning the tribals and Nagas as citizens of the state,” it alleged.
The UNC cited that Manipur chief minister Ibobi has stated that he does not understand what the alternative arrangement means and in his Independence Day 2014 speech, as the first citizen of the state, he has declared that the alternative arrangement is a pipe dream. The Government of Manipur is a party to the tripartite talk on alternative arrangement which has seen seven rounds, the last of which was attended by political representatives of the Government of Manipur. In utter disrespect of the democratic process of dialogue he condemn the very process in which his Government is a party, while at the same time adopting a double standard posture saying that any issue can be discussed and resolved without resorting to agitation. Outrightly disrespectul of the democratic process of dialogue, Government of Manipur advocates dialogue to maintain the status quo of suppression and political disempowerment, the UNC said.
“The Indo-Naga cease-fire is between two entities and without any pre-condition and has been entered into for creating the environment and space for an acceptable and honourable settlement. But Ibobi maintain that there is no cease-fire in Manipur and under the pretext of law and order has militarised the Naga areas, particularly Ukhrul headquarters with the CrPC 144 in place for more than 40 days. This is at best, state sponsored terrorism. The Indo-Naga peace process issue is opposed with communal intent by the Government of Manipur, which is a state within the Union of India and is therefore anti-national,” the UNC press statement said.
The UNC said in the non-suspension of operation and non cease-fire areas of the valley, normal life continues without militarisation by the Government of Manipur. But where there is suspension of operation and cease-fire in tribal areas there is militarisation. Mr Ibobi has on the floor of the state Assembly even welcomed the proposal of a referendum by a valley based outlawed militant organisation. “Can any Government, which claims to represent the people, be more blatantly communal than this contrasting testimony?” the UNC also asked.
“There are no Nagas in Manipur. No to Indo-Naga cease-fire. No to political empowerment of tribals and Nagas. No to protection of ancestral lands of the Nagas and tribals. No to the constitutional rights of employment and educational opportunities of the Nagas and tribals, as borne out by the current reservation crisis in Manipur University, the highest temple of learning and wisdom. No to development of the tribal areas on the pretext of law and order and absence of land laws. This is the Government of Manipur’s policy towards the Nagas and tribal people,” the UNC press note alleged.
