File Photo of a public protest under the aegis of the United Naga Council (UNC) held in Ukhrul on August 19, 2011 against the creation of a Sadar Hills District in the Nagas' areas in Manipur State.
Land is the sustenance for the people. Without land, sea and sky are the only spaces for people to exist. Land has an owner, the ancestral ownership based on historical/original settlements. The land owner leases out land to tenants and collect royalty or yearly tax upon the dwellers. Land is precious and for that people buy or acquire it at the cost of human lives through war and force annexation. The Sadar Hills Demand for a separate district from Senapati district need to understand and analyze in correct perspectives so that the blunder is not committed to flare up any communal war in the trouble torn Manipur, a state in north east India. The indigenous original settlers of the land i.e. the owner of the land enjoy the loyalty or tax in kind or cash from the tenants. In case of the Sadar Hills, the Naga asserted that the present occupants (Kukis and Nepalis) are recent comers and Nagas are the original settlers, for instance as the Liangmai Community has pointed out they are the original settlers in southern range of Sadar hills where Koubru was named after Liangmai forefather Koubu. Even the streams, rivers, mountains and hills bear its(Liangmai’s) name, the Liangmai community claimed this as their historical and political inalienable rights. Therefore, Sadar Hills districthood would demean and destroy the historical and political rights of the Liangmai Naga, Maram, Thangal, Poumai, Mao, Kabui, Maring, Tangkhul, Kharam, Chiru etc. ( Naga people) in whose land the Kukis and other communities came to settle for temporary dwelling back then.
The second instance is the telling fact of the owner and tenant, the royalty enjoyed by the T.Khullen(Maram Naga tribe) over the Kangpokpi hills is the testimony before the world to observe, see, judge and verify that on whose land the Kukis are cultivating to this day. The Maram village T.Khullen enjoyed the royalty tax from the Kukis of Kangpokpi, any cultivation in the hills the Kukis has to pay annual tax to the T.Khullen, a Maram Naga Village in the Kangpokpi Subidivision. The monumental Thangal Sarung, the birth place of Thangal General (Thangal Naga) in the heart of the Saikul area is the telling fact of the original settler vis as vis owner of the land. The argument of this humble piece is based on these three instances/evidences that fall under the 3(three) blocks of the supposedly demand Sadar Hills. Anybody can easily verify these historical facts and many more, it is an open truth for all to consume. Therefore, the question of separate districthood for Kukis do not hold water on the ground that they are recent settlers and their demand for justice is the injustice to the original settlers who are the owners of the land. Therefore, this needs clear and logical understanding. Until there is a proper dialogue among the ethnic groups living in the Senapati District, just demanding from the Government of Manipur will be irrelevant and will tantamount to further conflicts and violence. The need of the hour is the rational and logical reasoning based on the historical dimension with facts, evidences and the basic universal law on ownership. Even the Government of Manipur having understood this historical and political implications has made four MoUs with the Naga Civil Society(ies) in the past that the Sardar Hills Conflict can be resolved through the proper consultation and consent of the Naga people. These MoUs are irrevocable documents signed after bloody agitations with the sacrifice of lives from the Naga side to oppose the Kukis’ demand of Sardar Hill district.
There are 6(six) assembly segments in Senapati District, 3(three) i.e. Kangpokpi A.C., Saikul A.C. and Saitu A.C. fall under southern Senapati the alleged demand Sadar Hills. Karong A.C., Tadubi A.C. and Mao A.C. fall under the northern Senapati. The district fall under the Outer Manipur Parliamentary A.C. for Lok Sabha seat and out of 15th Lok Sabha Elections, 6(six) times the Kuki-Chin-Mizos got elected; 4th and 5th Paokai Haokip, 7th N.Gouzagin, 12th Kim Gangte, 13th Haolkhomang Haokip and the current incumbent 15th Thangso Baite. There are equal numbers of subdivisions i.e. 3(three) in Sadar Hills-Kangpokpi, Saikul and Saitu and 3(three) in Senapati-Mao-Maram(Tadubi), Paomata and Purul. Equal fund flow to each assembly segment through local area development fund, equal fund is enjoyed by each MPs and each block gets fund according to their size of population or households. This the basis everywhere in the country. Therefore, the word discrimination in development sectors as claimed by the Kukis in the Sadar Hills is but a false propaganda without any basis. Rather the discriminations is meted out by the Kukis over the Nagas living in the Sardar Hills (the original land owner and ancestral land owner) when it comes to development. The comparative study and fact finding assessment can be taken up in the given Naga villages in Sadar Hills and Kuki villages. Therefore, the Kukis in Sardar Hills also enjoyed the fruit of development to the fullest with so many years of the Kukis in the MPs and MLAs.
The underdevelopment can be due to the system fault of neglecting the hills by the valley administration in Manipur which the tribal bodies like ATSUM, COPTAM fight for the tribal rights from time to time is the testimony for everyone to digest and understand. In this case, then Kukis must realize the larger goal for the inclusive tribal unity rather than trying to give a horse kick on the face of Nagas, who gave them(Kukis) the land, the space for breeding and breathing. It is not so surprising to note that due to false recognition of 90 villages mostly from the Sardar Hill, the officers in the concerned department, Government of Manipur are placed under suspension order due alleged irregularities in the process. The creation of new villages has almost become the hobby of Kuki brothers for want of more government fund and facilities. Not surprising that villages having only 7-10 households are recognized as revenue villages by the Government of Manipur. The Kukis are far more artful and skillful in pursuing government funds and facilities than the Nagas. This can also be verified by all concern. The detaining of district Head, the Deputy Commissioner of Senapati for 4(four) days in prison like condition, the non-relaxation for the emergency medical care, the road block on the national highways, by the recent blockaders, exposed the irrationality and unreasoning attitude from the supporters of Sardar Hills districthood demand.
It can be pointed out that from the administrative point of view, there are no insurmountable obstacles to run the administration from Senapati District Headquarter as the Block Headquarters are assessable and lie along the National Highway except Saikul. And each block is looked after by an officer not less the rank of Sub-Divisional Officer/Block Development Officer. Of course, all hill districts suffer common administrative failure in the State of Manipur, as all Officers are found absent from their places of posting and run their offices at Imphal. This valley centric administration and concentration of all facilities and institutions in the valley is common for all the hill districts of Manipur. This a common problem of the hill people which demand the united command of the hill tribes to solve the problem from the long term perspectives, not only for present but for the generations to come. Therefore, the Kuki-chin-Mizo community needs a committed far sighted leader(s) who could think beyond the present from the perspective of tribal unity and brotherly diplomatic relations with the Naga community given the political dimension of the present state of Manipur. To many Kukis-Chin-Mizos, the memories are still fresh, the controversial killing o f one Zomi IPS officers, the landmines victims at Chandel/Churachandpur, the mass rape (of Hmars girls) by valley militants at Churachapur, the promotion denials to senior IAS and IPS officers from tribal community and many many more. If your memory is fresh, at the time of Manorama Devi’s murder case, one Pastor (Zamkholam) from Saikul area was killed and buried in a swallow grave by SFs but that case never get a headlines in the Manipuri’s media nor the valley people supported or tried to take up the issue to the intensity of that of Manorama Devi’s, a proscribed lady militant. This is self evident, the way the tribals are treated in the state of Manipur. These are verifiable facts without any malign and favour towards any community or tribe.
The hill districts of Manipur are burning and Sardar Hills issue of underdevelopment cannot be viewed in isolation as discrimination. The National Highway 150 that connect Manipur to Mizoram via Churachandpur never get Government’s attention, as per media’s report 50 Crores of rupees was returned to the Central Government as the work could be executed on time by the state government. How many villages in Churachandpur are not reached with the good weather roads, how many in chandel, how many in Ukhrul, how many in Tamenglong and how many in Senapati in this 21st Century? This is the telling fact of the fate of tribal community living in the present State of Manipur. All these instances can be verified by anyone. The imposter (Meitei) singing the merciful song of pity picking 1990s ethnic clash between Kukis and Nagas is but like a Monkey holding a weighing scale trying to divide the loaf for the two cats. Slicing away from each scale a piece of loaf, the Monkey eat up all and left with no much loaf for the two poor cats. The dimension in any issue what the tribal and the people of the present Manipur need to clearly understand is the sustainable long term solution that will benefit each one including the common men and women. By, that it means people to people dialogue should be the basis to resolve any conflict. When the State come in to the picture as the inherent agency to solve any conflict, it is in all likelihood that it(State) can add more fuel to the fire instead of dousing it(fire). It is needless to say that State as a political body cannot escape from it’s (ruling party) political goal for the present and next term i.e. to come back to power by any means even if amounts to eliminating some innocent lives, denying justice for one by favouring the other at the expense of common people, because, the very democracy and basic human values are not found in the lexicon of present day politics. Therefore, it needs the conscious understanding of the tribal leaders and young generation that the tribals will be like those two cats bringing the found loaf to the monkey for equal division of share. Which never happens as thought by 2(two) cats but disappoints both.
At this moment, the leaders should think of maintaining the tribal unity for the inclusive growth of the tribes living in hill districts can be far more beneficial to the common citizen at the end of day than harping for tribal disharmony at the top of their voice sometimes favouring Manipur integrity sometimes talking about tribal unity. Tomorrow the COPTAM may start fresh agitation for the separate administration for hills where the Kukis are also party to it. The problems that the tribals are facing today needs to be understood with proper perspective.
It is tempting to suggest rather an odd alternative option that can be explored at this critical juncture by all the concern is the tribal leaders understanding and negotiating among themselves for the long term benefit of all. It demands of courage to negotiate among themselves the best possible solution for them by internal understanding and workable solution. Or else, if both the Naga and Kukis go by its stand there can be darker future ahead, and that nobody can predict what happen next. That can be a costly affair. As Naga group has already entered as much as four MoUs with the Manipur Government, asserting their historical and political rights over their land and not willing to give away even an inch of it on one hand and the Kukis to fight for separate full fledged revenue district on the other hand, there is no meeting point in that. If both don’t budged an inch from their stand and if the State Government do play and irresponsible role of playing favouring card, the whole Manipur is at stake as if waiting and watching for the match to lit the staked dry twigs. Like it or not, it needs a long term solution to come from within the people and communities themselves and not an immediate declaration of whatsoever by the state agency. Which road to take?
The second instance is the telling fact of the owner and tenant, the royalty enjoyed by the T.Khullen(Maram Naga tribe) over the Kangpokpi hills is the testimony before the world to observe, see, judge and verify that on whose land the Kukis are cultivating to this day. The Maram village T.Khullen enjoyed the royalty tax from the Kukis of Kangpokpi, any cultivation in the hills the Kukis has to pay annual tax to the T.Khullen, a Maram Naga Village in the Kangpokpi Subidivision. The monumental Thangal Sarung, the birth place of Thangal General (Thangal Naga) in the heart of the Saikul area is the telling fact of the original settler vis as vis owner of the land. The argument of this humble piece is based on these three instances/evidences that fall under the 3(three) blocks of the supposedly demand Sadar Hills. Anybody can easily verify these historical facts and many more, it is an open truth for all to consume. Therefore, the question of separate districthood for Kukis do not hold water on the ground that they are recent settlers and their demand for justice is the injustice to the original settlers who are the owners of the land. Therefore, this needs clear and logical understanding. Until there is a proper dialogue among the ethnic groups living in the Senapati District, just demanding from the Government of Manipur will be irrelevant and will tantamount to further conflicts and violence. The need of the hour is the rational and logical reasoning based on the historical dimension with facts, evidences and the basic universal law on ownership. Even the Government of Manipur having understood this historical and political implications has made four MoUs with the Naga Civil Society(ies) in the past that the Sardar Hills Conflict can be resolved through the proper consultation and consent of the Naga people. These MoUs are irrevocable documents signed after bloody agitations with the sacrifice of lives from the Naga side to oppose the Kukis’ demand of Sardar Hill district.
There are 6(six) assembly segments in Senapati District, 3(three) i.e. Kangpokpi A.C., Saikul A.C. and Saitu A.C. fall under southern Senapati the alleged demand Sadar Hills. Karong A.C., Tadubi A.C. and Mao A.C. fall under the northern Senapati. The district fall under the Outer Manipur Parliamentary A.C. for Lok Sabha seat and out of 15th Lok Sabha Elections, 6(six) times the Kuki-Chin-Mizos got elected; 4th and 5th Paokai Haokip, 7th N.Gouzagin, 12th Kim Gangte, 13th Haolkhomang Haokip and the current incumbent 15th Thangso Baite. There are equal numbers of subdivisions i.e. 3(three) in Sadar Hills-Kangpokpi, Saikul and Saitu and 3(three) in Senapati-Mao-Maram(Tadubi), Paomata and Purul. Equal fund flow to each assembly segment through local area development fund, equal fund is enjoyed by each MPs and each block gets fund according to their size of population or households. This the basis everywhere in the country. Therefore, the word discrimination in development sectors as claimed by the Kukis in the Sadar Hills is but a false propaganda without any basis. Rather the discriminations is meted out by the Kukis over the Nagas living in the Sardar Hills (the original land owner and ancestral land owner) when it comes to development. The comparative study and fact finding assessment can be taken up in the given Naga villages in Sadar Hills and Kuki villages. Therefore, the Kukis in Sardar Hills also enjoyed the fruit of development to the fullest with so many years of the Kukis in the MPs and MLAs.
The underdevelopment can be due to the system fault of neglecting the hills by the valley administration in Manipur which the tribal bodies like ATSUM, COPTAM fight for the tribal rights from time to time is the testimony for everyone to digest and understand. In this case, then Kukis must realize the larger goal for the inclusive tribal unity rather than trying to give a horse kick on the face of Nagas, who gave them(Kukis) the land, the space for breeding and breathing. It is not so surprising to note that due to false recognition of 90 villages mostly from the Sardar Hill, the officers in the concerned department, Government of Manipur are placed under suspension order due alleged irregularities in the process. The creation of new villages has almost become the hobby of Kuki brothers for want of more government fund and facilities. Not surprising that villages having only 7-10 households are recognized as revenue villages by the Government of Manipur. The Kukis are far more artful and skillful in pursuing government funds and facilities than the Nagas. This can also be verified by all concern. The detaining of district Head, the Deputy Commissioner of Senapati for 4(four) days in prison like condition, the non-relaxation for the emergency medical care, the road block on the national highways, by the recent blockaders, exposed the irrationality and unreasoning attitude from the supporters of Sardar Hills districthood demand.
It can be pointed out that from the administrative point of view, there are no insurmountable obstacles to run the administration from Senapati District Headquarter as the Block Headquarters are assessable and lie along the National Highway except Saikul. And each block is looked after by an officer not less the rank of Sub-Divisional Officer/Block Development Officer. Of course, all hill districts suffer common administrative failure in the State of Manipur, as all Officers are found absent from their places of posting and run their offices at Imphal. This valley centric administration and concentration of all facilities and institutions in the valley is common for all the hill districts of Manipur. This a common problem of the hill people which demand the united command of the hill tribes to solve the problem from the long term perspectives, not only for present but for the generations to come. Therefore, the Kuki-chin-Mizo community needs a committed far sighted leader(s) who could think beyond the present from the perspective of tribal unity and brotherly diplomatic relations with the Naga community given the political dimension of the present state of Manipur. To many Kukis-Chin-Mizos, the memories are still fresh, the controversial killing o f one Zomi IPS officers, the landmines victims at Chandel/Churachandpur, the mass rape (of Hmars girls) by valley militants at Churachapur, the promotion denials to senior IAS and IPS officers from tribal community and many many more. If your memory is fresh, at the time of Manorama Devi’s murder case, one Pastor (Zamkholam) from Saikul area was killed and buried in a swallow grave by SFs but that case never get a headlines in the Manipuri’s media nor the valley people supported or tried to take up the issue to the intensity of that of Manorama Devi’s, a proscribed lady militant. This is self evident, the way the tribals are treated in the state of Manipur. These are verifiable facts without any malign and favour towards any community or tribe.
The hill districts of Manipur are burning and Sardar Hills issue of underdevelopment cannot be viewed in isolation as discrimination. The National Highway 150 that connect Manipur to Mizoram via Churachandpur never get Government’s attention, as per media’s report 50 Crores of rupees was returned to the Central Government as the work could be executed on time by the state government. How many villages in Churachandpur are not reached with the good weather roads, how many in chandel, how many in Ukhrul, how many in Tamenglong and how many in Senapati in this 21st Century? This is the telling fact of the fate of tribal community living in the present State of Manipur. All these instances can be verified by anyone. The imposter (Meitei) singing the merciful song of pity picking 1990s ethnic clash between Kukis and Nagas is but like a Monkey holding a weighing scale trying to divide the loaf for the two cats. Slicing away from each scale a piece of loaf, the Monkey eat up all and left with no much loaf for the two poor cats. The dimension in any issue what the tribal and the people of the present Manipur need to clearly understand is the sustainable long term solution that will benefit each one including the common men and women. By, that it means people to people dialogue should be the basis to resolve any conflict. When the State come in to the picture as the inherent agency to solve any conflict, it is in all likelihood that it(State) can add more fuel to the fire instead of dousing it(fire). It is needless to say that State as a political body cannot escape from it’s (ruling party) political goal for the present and next term i.e. to come back to power by any means even if amounts to eliminating some innocent lives, denying justice for one by favouring the other at the expense of common people, because, the very democracy and basic human values are not found in the lexicon of present day politics. Therefore, it needs the conscious understanding of the tribal leaders and young generation that the tribals will be like those two cats bringing the found loaf to the monkey for equal division of share. Which never happens as thought by 2(two) cats but disappoints both.
At this moment, the leaders should think of maintaining the tribal unity for the inclusive growth of the tribes living in hill districts can be far more beneficial to the common citizen at the end of day than harping for tribal disharmony at the top of their voice sometimes favouring Manipur integrity sometimes talking about tribal unity. Tomorrow the COPTAM may start fresh agitation for the separate administration for hills where the Kukis are also party to it. The problems that the tribals are facing today needs to be understood with proper perspective.
It is tempting to suggest rather an odd alternative option that can be explored at this critical juncture by all the concern is the tribal leaders understanding and negotiating among themselves for the long term benefit of all. It demands of courage to negotiate among themselves the best possible solution for them by internal understanding and workable solution. Or else, if both the Naga and Kukis go by its stand there can be darker future ahead, and that nobody can predict what happen next. That can be a costly affair. As Naga group has already entered as much as four MoUs with the Manipur Government, asserting their historical and political rights over their land and not willing to give away even an inch of it on one hand and the Kukis to fight for separate full fledged revenue district on the other hand, there is no meeting point in that. If both don’t budged an inch from their stand and if the State Government do play and irresponsible role of playing favouring card, the whole Manipur is at stake as if waiting and watching for the match to lit the staked dry twigs. Like it or not, it needs a long term solution to come from within the people and communities themselves and not an immediate declaration of whatsoever by the state agency. Which road to take?
