Tag: United Naga Council

Manipur: Fresh Confrontation Brews Between Nagas and Kukis

The government has asked police and security forces to be prepared for an emergency.

New Delhi: Old tensions between the Tangkhul Nagas and the Kuki tribes inhabiting the hill areas of Manipur has come to the fore over the past few days due to a disagreement between the two communities on the manner of celebration of the 100th year of the Kuki uprising (1917-19) against the British.

A verbal confrontation between leaders of the two ethnic groups has led the Manipur government to ask all police stations and paramilitary forces stationed across the state to be ready for any emergency.

The Kuki-Naga ethnic conflict had seen a bloody bout in 1992-1993 arising from a claim and counter-claim of strips of community land, leading to hundreds of deaths, including those of women and children. Large tracks of land claimed by the Kukis as their ancestral land are also claimed by the Nagas of Manipur and are a part of the greater Nagalim demand of the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) led by T. Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga from the state. Members of the NSCN had shot dead over 100 Kukis in 1993.

The current Kuki-Naga confrontation sprung out of the decision of the centenary celebration committee to erect memorial pillars in stone in many Kuki inhabited districts of Manipur inscribed with the words, “In defence of our ancestral land and freedom”.

The uprising of the Kukis between 1917 and 1919 was led by the chiefs against the British to oppose youth from the community being forcefully inducted into the Imperial Army’s Labour Corps to help British troops fighting the First World War. The community, under the banner of Anglo Kuki War Centenary Commemoration Committee, had begun a three-year-long commemorative programme which ended this past October 17.

The pillar which has caused consternation between the two groups. Photo: Facebook/The Anglo-Kuki War 1917-1919

The ire of the Tangkhul Nagas was attracted due to stone pillars calling the Kuki inhabited areas as their ancestral land. It triggered a massive protest from the Tangkhul Naga bodies. To calm the situation, state chief minister N. Biren Singh held a meeting with Kuki Inpi, the representative body of the community. It was also attended by MLAs and top officials of the state. The state’s chief secretary Suresh Babu held a press meet in Imphal on October 15 to state that the government had already asked the district authorities to remove the words keeping “public sentiments” in mind. He reportedly said, “The state of Manipur is for all and the ancestral land belongs to no particular community; the misunderstanding between the communities and state government that may affect people’s sentiments will also be solved soon.”

Another meeting held with the Kuki Inpi was inconclusive. Meanwhile, Kuki women guarded the pillars to thwart any move to remove the words from the pillars.

In a statement issued on October 15, the United Naga Council, the representative body of the Nagas of the state, also appealed to the Kuki “brethren” to refrain from making any provocative statements on the issue and remove the words they were opposed to. They also refused to accept the uprising as a ‘war’ against the British.

The chief minister, speaking in the Tangkhul Naga-majority Ukhrul district on October 16, however, expressed confidence about bringing under control the Kuki-Naga confrontation.

After he held a meeting with the Kuki Inpi, and the members of the commemoration committee, a decision was arrived at. The community leaders would agree to remove the words in lieu of the government declaring October 17 as a restricted holiday in the annual calendar and construct a Kuki Memorial Park in Imphal.

Local news reports, however, said the move was opposed by Kuki armed groups who are in a ceasefire agreement with the Central and state governments. They are engaged in peace talks. The reports said they threatened to cause harm to those who had agreed to remove the words from the memorial pillars.

Reacting to it, government spokesperson and education minister Th. Radheshyam, at a press meet in Imphal on October 17, stated, “The government will not spare any party or group who are trying to breach the ‘hard-earned’ peace in the state or who are trying to create enmity between co-existing communities.”

NE Dispatch: Bru Refugees to Head Home After 22 Years, Imphal Eviction Drive

A roundup of news this week from the Northeast.

Mizoram: Bru refugees to finally move back to Mizoram from Tripura

After 22 years, as many as 32,876 Bru refugees who fled from Mizoram to neighbouring Tripura and have been residing there since in six relief camps will finally return home before this September 30.

According to the Union ministry of home affairs, the relief camps will be closed in October.

The communal tension between the Bru and the majority Mizo community, which triggered the exodus in 1996, has been long drawn, leading to the birth of the armed group Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), and the political wing Bru National Union (BNU), which demanded an autonomous district akin to the Chakmas in the state.

The battle lines were firmly drawn in 1995 when the powerful Young Mizo Association and Mizo Students Association opposed the presence of Brus in the state’s electoral rolls claiming that they are not indigenous to the state. Things took an ugly turn on October 21, 1996, when the BNLF shot dead a Mizo official, triggering communal riots in which many Bru villages were burnt down, pushing them to flee to neighbouring North Tripura. They have since been staying at the relief camps in Tripura’s Kanchanpur and Panisagar sub-divisions.

Till now, the Union home ministry has reportedly allocated Rs 346.97 crore to the Tripura government for their upkeep.

Though a set of refugees comprising 1,622 Bru families with 8,573 members were resettled in Mizoram in 2010 with the Centre allocating Rs 68.90 crore to the state government for the purpose, it has not been able to complete the repatriation process due to massive opposition by Mizo organisations and fresh demands from the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), the community’s representative outfit. Many have also expressed fear of being attacked again if they return home.

Credit: PTI

The fresh round of talks that led to the July 4 agreement of the Central and state government with MBDPF has come after three years of negotiations, including a lingering process of the Mizoram government identifying them as its residents based on the 1996 electoral rolls. Though MBDPF had demanded more political rights from the Centre as a condition for repatriation, the Centre didn’t agree to it and even threatened to dry up the financial allocation given to the Tripura government for their relief.

As per the July 4 repatriation pact, the Bru or Reang refugees comprising 5,407 families would be settled back in their villages in Kolasib and Mamit districts of the state. Each of the 5,407 families will get financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh, which will be locked in fixed deposit for two years under the name of the head of the family on the condition that they would not leave their villages for at least three years. Besides giving a one-time assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh to each family to build a dwelling (in three installments), they would be given cash assistance of Rs 5,000 per month till two years and free ration, also for two years.

The total cost of the package is pegged at Rs 435 crore by the MHA. This money will also include the setting up of police posts and border outposts by the Mizoram government besides the one-teacher Ekalavya residential schools. The refugees will also be provided free of charge carriage facility to their villages. Before they move back, the Tripura government will issue them Aadhar cards, help open bank accounts, and update their ration cards. The Mizoram government is to ensure their access to Jhum cultivation, issue permanent residential certificates and the Scheduled Tribe certificates.

Interestingly, the pact has come at a time when Mizoram is set for a crucial assembly election this December. As per media reports quoting the Union home ministry, they would be able to vote in the polls, which means the Central government has succeeded in putting an added feature to the upcoming elections, at least in six assembly constituencies that come under these districts.

The Congress, with two consecutive terms in office, would fight anti-incumbency against the main opposition, the Mizo National Front (MNF), and its ally, the BJP, which has been talking about a Congress Mukt Northeast for some time now. The Lal Thanhawla government in Mizoram is the only Congress government in the region. With the arrival of these refugees, the electoral rolls of the state, last updated in 2014, will have to be revised prior to the polls.    

Manipur: Eviction drive in Muslim areas of Imphal leads to tension, bandh

Over 80 houses belonging to Pangal (Meitei Muslim) community of Manipur have been demolished by state authorities since July 2, based on the claim that they had created villages by encroaching reserve forest land and paddy land protected under the Manipur Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2014.

The demolition drive has triggered a 72-hour bandh called by the All Manipur Muslim Organization’s Coordinating Committee (AMMOCC). The bandh began on July 2. Some vehicles were reportedly burnt by protesters following a confrontation with the police on the morning of July 2 morning during the eviction drive in which at least five people were injured. 

The eviction drive in Imphal. Courtesy: Imphal Free Press

The state forest department had issued an eviction notice to the families in Khetri Begoon, Khetri Awang Ching, Mantripukhri and adjoining areas in the Imphal East district this past March, and attempted to carry out a demolition drive in Awang Ching area soon after it, leading to instant protest. In a press meet on March 9 in Imphal, AMMOCC president S.L. Jalal Sheikh reportedly questioned why the drive was “intentionally started from a Muslim inhabited area” even though “there are many paddy fields which people use for different purposes” in violation of the Act. He said, “People inhabiting the area are indigenous people as they have been settled there since 1976. The village has a masjid, a government school, an anganwadi centre, electricity and water facilities.”

Though a 32-hour bandh was called by AMMOCC on April 10, the bandh was lifted that evening following an agreement with the state government that the organization would give the chief minister N Biren Singh three weeks’ time to find “an amicable solution” to the issue. However, in a memorandum submitted by AMMOCC to the state government on July 2 accused the CM of backtracking from the earlier agreement. It was followed by the 72-hour bandh. Local media reports said the bandh “affected normal life at Minuthong, Hatta, Top Khongnangkhong and Khabeisoi area in Imphal East by cutting off connectivity with the Imphal West.”

On July 3, chief minister N. Biren denied AMMOCC’s accusation of targeting Muslims by the BJP-led government. Speaking at a public meeting in Imphal, he said, “There is no question of targeting the minority community” and the houses were demolished “as the area falls under reserved forest land.” He said such drives would continue and would take place in all districts of the state.

The CM said though AMMOCC leaders, during the March meeting with him, reminded him about a pending court case on the encroachment issue but in due course of time, the court entrusted the state forest department and the Green Tribunal with the responsibility of taking necessary action as the area falls under reserved forest land. He said, “The government issued notice to the residents on time and evicted (them) from their houses yesterday (July 2).”

On July 2, state forest minister Th. Shyamkumar also told reporters in a press meet that the eviction drive would continue “without bias to any group of people and it is not done at the interest of one community”. He said during the eviction, “a masjid was spared as religious structures were excluded as per law.

On July 3, reports said, “A huge complex of Nongpok Chingu Thong Thalo Sipi Lok was destroyed. It is a local religious complex composite of residential buildings, a temple and a community hall including other structures. In the destruction, the temple was spared.”

Meanwhile, those evicted have taken temporary shelter at a government school and tents and are urging the authorities for assistance as the state is witnessing torrential rains. 

Meghalaya: MLA Agatha Sangma resigns from South Tripura seat to pave way for brother Conrad Sangma to contest polls to remain CM

Agatha Sangma, MLA from Meghalaya’s South Tura constituency, has put in her papers to pave the way for her brother and National People’s Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma to contest the by-elections.

Sangma, who was sworn in as the state chief minister on March 6, will have to win an assembly seat by September to be able to continue in his post.

The chief minister, who also represents the Tura Lok Sabha seat, hasn’t yet resigned from it. It seems after winning the assembly seat and his subsequent resignation from the LS seat, it will be open to Agatha to contest from it as she had also represented the Tura seat in 2009. Media reports quoting Agatha said her party would decide accordingly.

Agatha Sangma. Credit: PTI

On July 3, a day after submitting her resignation to deputy speaker Timothy D. Shira from the state assembly, Agatha said she vacated it “since there was limited time” before her brother could contest the elections and the South Tura seat seemed the “most practical” one.   

As per news reports, Sangma will be the common candidate of all the parties, including the BJP, that entered into the post poll alliance to form the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.

Manipur: Tribal students’ organisations call ‘indefinite bandh’ over failure of the state govt to appoint tribal language teachers in HS schools

Beginning July 6, four tribal students’ bodies – the Thadou Students’ Association, General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ), Siamsinpawlpi, General Head Quarters (SSPP-GHQ), Rongmei Naga Students’ Organisation, North East India (RSO-NEI) and Liangmei Naga Katimai Ruangdi (LNKR-AMN) – have called a state-wide “indefinite bandh”, alleging failure of the Manipur government to recruit tribal language teachers in the state’s higher secondary schools.

Another demand of the students is “return of normalcy” in the Manipur University which has been witnessing a strike for over a month, “affecting “the academic career of many students”.

The bandh has affected normal life in the tribal areas of Manipur. Credit: Special arrangement

As per local news reports on July 6, the bandh affected normal life, mainly in the tribal areas of the state, including Jiribam, Tamenglong, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal areas. Reports said traffic in the Imphal-Moreh highway, Imphal-Dimapur highway and the Imphal-Jiribam highway was affected. The local police is said to have carried out a few arrests of student leaders in some areas, including Churachandpur.

A press statement signed by the representatives of the tribal students’ bodies on July 4 said that “they are compelled” to call the bandh as the state government failed to fulfil its promises regarding the appointment of the teachers. It said the student bodies “served an ultimatum to the state government on June 26 through press communique and also submitted the copy to both the chief minister and the education minister demanding immediate action” by issuing notification for recruitment of the teachers “on or before June 30.”

However, on July 5, state education director Th. Kirankumar called the bandh call “unreasonable” and appealed to the student bodies to “call it off at the earliest”. Media reports quoting him said the state education department had sent a proposal to the government for appointment of 688 higher secondary school teachers on contract basis. It included 42 posts for teachers in nine tribal languages — Mizo, Paite, Hmar, Tangkhul, Thadou Kuki, Jhou, Vaiphei, Kom and Rongmei.

However, the state cabinet approved only 408 posts initially which the department is now trying to fill up. Since the cabinet approval for the posts of tribal language teachers came only on June 26, he said, the process will take a while as “concurrence from the finance department” will have to be received before his department issues a notification to fill up those vacancies.

He said the student bodies had gone ahead with the bandh even though he explained it to them, “ignoring the assurance of the department”.

Meanwhile, many tribal student bodies and civil society organisations, including the United Naga Council (UNC), have opposed the bandh as it is affecting normal life. All Tribal Students Union (ATSUM), the apex tribal student body in the state, has also appealed to the student bodies to call off the bandh, reportedly stating that it “is consistently pursuing the issue of recruitment” of the teachers as per its charter of demands given to the state government “and is on the verge of implementation”. 

NE Dispatch: Manipur to Ban Bandhs, Blockades; Nagaland to Introduce Local Dialects in Schools

A round-up of what’s happening in India’s Northeast.

A round-up of what’s happening in India’s Northeast.

Vehicles line outside a fuel filling station in Imphal during the economic blockade in February. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Manipur: state cabinet decides to enact law banning bandhs and blockades

The BJP-led coalition government has decided to enact a law that would ban all calls for bandhs and blockades in the state.

In a meeting of the state cabinet on May 31, the possibility of such a law was discussed at length, citing judgements passed by the high courts of Kerala, West Bengal and Meghalaya, which called the bandhs illegal.

According to local media reports, the cabinet discussed the suffering caused to the people due to the perennial bandhs and blockades in the state called by various political and civil society organisations, and observed that such activities are an infringement of the fundamental rights of the people for free movement as guaranteed by the constitution.

The cabinet decided to lay on the organisers the responsibility of public inconvenience and damage to public property during the bandhs and blockades. The new law will enable the state government to recover the cost of damages to properties from the organisers. If found guilty, such people will be barred from joining government jobs and receiving benefits under government-run schemes in addition to facing criminal proceedings.

Over the last few decades, Manipur has seen umpteen bandhs and economic blockades. In the run-up to the May assembly elections, the United Naga Council, supported by the Naga People’s Front (NPF), blocked the arterial national highways to the state against the then state government’s decision to create new districts, thus leading to huge public inconvenience. Interestingly, NPF is now a part of the state government. It was not clear though whether NPF was a part of the May 31 cabinet meeting.

Sikkim: Monks take out peace rally demanding the Centre allow Karmapa to visit

Monks of Sikkim’s revered Rumtek monastery took out a peace rally in the state capital Gangtok on May 18 demanding that the Centre allows Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to visit the state. A day later, a delegation of the monks met the union minister for home Rajnath Singh at the state Raj Bhavan, urging early permission for Karmapa.

The delegation presented to Singh, who was on a two-day trip to the state, the resolution taken after the peace rally requesting the Centre to grant the permission, terming it as one of the “most important demand and aspiration” of the Buddhists of the state. According to local media reports, Sonam Kelyon, the MLA and the elected representative of the monks in the state assembly, led the delegation.

Monks blocking the highway in Sikkim demanding early visit of Karmapa to Sikkim. Credit: Twitter

Presently, the Karmapa, recognised as the head of the black hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama, resides in Dharamshala. There are, however, two more claimants to the title of the 17th Karmapa of that sect, which controls the Rumtek monastery in east Sikkim. While one claimant, Dava Sangpo Dorjee, resides in Nepal, the other one, Thaye Trinley Dorjee, escaped from Lhasa and now lives in New Delhi.

Ogyen Trinley also escaped from Tibet through Nepal in 2000 and took shelter in Dharamshala.

However, the central government barred him and the other two claimants from visiting Sikkim. Ogyen Trinley was also barred from visiting other states and foreign nations. Recently, that ban has been lifted, though he still can’t visit Rumtek.

The state government has since written to the Centre several times requesting it to allow him to visit the monastery. Last year, the monks, under the banner of Denjong Lhadey, also staged a protest against the central ban and decided not to celebrate Independence Day on August 15.

Assam: Historic Cotton College turned into university  

The premier institute of higher education in Assam and in the Northeast, Cotton College in Guwahati, has been turned into a university. From now on, it will be called the Cotton College State University.

Taking effect from June 1, the decision was as per a Bill passed by the state assembly in the last budget session. The Cotton University Act, 2017, will combine the human resource and properties of the college with Cotton College State University.

Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inauguration Cotton University. Credit: Twitter

Speaking at the function to upgrade the college to a university, state education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, an alumnus of the college, said, “The merger would pave the way for the institution becoming a centre of excellence in the future.”

Established in 1901 by the chief commissioner of the then British province of Assam, Sir Henry Cotton, the college has attracted the best of students and faculty of the region over the decades.

Nagaland: State to introduce local dialects in schools

The Nagaland government has decided to introduce the dialects spoken by various tribes of the state in the school curriculum from the 2018 academic session.

A notification to that effect was issued by the Naga People’s Front government in mid-May stating that it would help the state education department effectively implement the three-language policy as well as preserve, protect and promote local languages.

Nagaland CM Shurhozelie Liezietsu. Credit: PTI

The notification, applicable to both public and private schools, however, said English would continue to be the medium of instruction in the schools though teachers would be encouraged to explain difficult concepts and terms in local languages.

Though Nagamese is the common language used among the tribes of the state, each has its own dialect. Nagamese, which doesn’t have a script of its own and uses the Roman one, is not recognised as a regional language. This has led English to be the medium of instruction in educational institutions. In 1964, the state assembly declared English as the official language of the state.

The Freezing and Thawing of the Churachandpur Agitation

As the agitation in Manipur’s hill district crosses its 600th day and eight bodies still await burial, the protesters witnessed their struggle nearly reach a resolution this month, but then suddenly head back into a deadlock.

As the agitation in Manipur’s hill district crosses its 600th day and eight bodies still await burial, the protesters witnessed their struggle nearly reach a resolution this month, but then suddenly head back into a deadlock.

Salpha Pumbuk, where the protesters congregate. Here, nine dummy coffins have been placed in a row since 2015 to remember the nine locals who died. Credit: Anoo Bhuyan

Churachandpur (Manipur): The Baptist and Presbyterian Christians in the Churachandpur district of Manipur recently remembered the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. They were, however, nagged by other deaths as well – on the political front. In about a week from then, they were to reach the 600th day anniversary of the death of nine young locals in a political agitation in September 2015. Eight of these bodies are yet to be buried and have been preserved in a morgue.

On Good Friday, the nearly 800-member strong church sang, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son. And that is why Jesus died for you and me.” Just around the corner from the church, a large banner with nine faces, and one cut out in an act of vandalism, reads, “Our heroes, your blood shall set us free.” In this Christian and Kuki dominated district of Manipur, the language is striking for its spiritual poignancy.

As they prepared to celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 16, they wondered what the next week would bring – perhaps a resolution to their crisis and the burial of their dead?

The district has been agitating against the three bills that were passed by the Manipur state legislature in 2015. The bills – the Protection of Manipur People’s Bill 2015, the Manipur Land Reforms and Land Revenue (7th Amendment) Bill and the Manipur Shops and Establishment (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2015 – were introduced by the previous government and passed without the consultation of the hill area committees. It kicked off violent protests. Although most media reports state that all nine died in police firing, some actually died due to burn injuries from fires that were started by the agitators. Once the number of dead and injured started mounting, a Joint Action Committee Against Anti-Tribal Bills (JAC) was set up. It is a consortium of various tribal bodies that had come together to agitate against these Bills. They feared that the valley areas were seeking to take over their tribal and hill areas and called these Bills ‘anti-tribal’ in nature.

In advance of the 600th day anniversary, the JAC informed the media that to commemorate the event they would organise a mass mourning, fasting and praying at the Salpha Pumbuk. “The JAC humbly requests the general public to come forward and join hands in offering our thanks to the Almighty for leading us thus far and for His continued guidance, companionship and pray for an early solution to the prolonged impasse while we reaffirm our commitment towards our struggle for tribal self-determination,” they said. As a mark of respect for the ‘tribal martyrs,’ they also asked all business establishments to shut down from sunrise to sunset, and asked vehicles to stay off the road.

Salpha Pumbuk is where the protesters congregate. Here, nine dummy coffins have been placed in a row since 2015 to remember the nine locals who died. It is a makeshift thatched structure. Saturday, April 22, turned out to be a rainy day and so the congregation had to move into a hall where they fasted, prayed and listened to teachings from the Bible.

The dead bodies lie frozen in the morgue at the Churachandpur district hospital. There were nine bodies, but one disappeared. It belonged to the youngest victim, an 11-year-old boy, and the belief is that his family buried the body without informing the JAC.

Freezing and thawing

Even as the bodies stayed frozen, a political-thaw began earlier this month. With the recently concluded assembly elections, Manipur booted out the 15-year-old Congress government and a new BJP government came in. This brought an uptick in the mood of Manipur. Every day the newspapers have been filled with reports akin to press releases of various ‘JACs’ that have been meeting the new chief minister with their demands.

But the JAC in Churachandpur got special attention. Resolving the Churachandpur agitation was a priority for this new government, along with dealing with the three-month long blockade imposed in north Manipur by the United Naga Council. The previous Congress government had met the protestors only twice, and only in the early days of the agitation. They said that the previous chief minister had asked for an analysis of why the Bills were ‘anti-tribal’ in nature. They sent him a reply in January 2016, but never heard back.

On April 5, however, the new government invited the JAC for talks with the chief minister and his cabinet soon after taking office. The first round was scheduled for April 7, the second for April 10 and the hope was for a memorandum of understanding between the two sides by April 12. Around the same time, Manipur governor Najma Heptulla reached out to the protestors as well, urging them to call off their agitation.

It felt like the new government would break ice, but then the indications began to change and things fell apart. The government had only succeeded in resolving the blockade in the north, but not the agitation in the south. Instead of the agitation nearing its end, it seems that stances hardened. “I think the government will resume talks, but we don’t know when. We are always open. Eventually if they do not concede to our demand, there is no solution. We are only representing the wishes of the people,” says H. Mangchinkhup, chief convener of the JAC.

In 2015, the protesters had come to Delhi and laid out nine dummy coffins at Jantar Mantar as a mark of protest. They are now looking to return to the capital to not only protest but also to get the central government involved in the crisis.

The sublimation of talks

When the dead bodies and the injured began coming to the district hospital in August 2015, no one knew which way the agitation would go. The JAC was only formed by September 2. Until then, the families were confused about what to do. But they were asked not to bury the bodies. In fact, the dusty little town had no morgue in the district hospital. With blocks of ice, bottle gourds and other local methods, they kept the bodies frozen. In a few months, they finally managed to buy a cold storage from Guwahati in Assam, had it installed in the government district hospital, put in air conditioners and then decided that they wouldn’t bury the bodies until the government gave in to their demands.

In their recent press release, the JAC said, “It is a customary practice among the Christian tribals to give an honourable burial to the dead; however, until and unless the extreme sense of insecurity among the tribal people fuelled by the passing of the three anti-tribal Bills can be mitigated through an amicable and sustainable solution, the burial of the remaining eight tribal martyrs is not our priority.”

So this month, the JAC met the new chief minister with a three-page charter of demands. By the end of the first meeting, there was some ambiguity about the demands, but still some hope for the second meeting. By the end of the second meeting, news reports said that the JAC had asked for the creation of a new Lamka district in the area. The three-month long blockade in Manipur last year was called due to the very same reason – when the state government went ahead and suddenly announced seven new districts. The talks had come on to shaky ground, and by the end of the second round it was clear that the agitation was not being pacified. In fact, the crisis was back where it started. “If they force us to end this agitation, we will block it with our bare hands. We are not afraid of the bullet,” says Mangchinkhup.

As hope sublimated, the deadlock was set in place. For example, one of the main demands in their charter is for a constitutional safeguard for ancestral tribal territories and the development of tribal people. They want the sixth schedule of the constitution extended to Manipur. At present it covers tribal areas only in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura and allows for considerable regional autonomy in matters such as allotment of land and inheritance of property. However, the JAC says they were told that no assurance can be given to them on this front. They want a written assurance that no bills of this nature will ever make it to the Manipur assembly without consultation with the tribal stakeholders. They were given only oral assurances. The JAC also asked for “justice for the tribal martyrs and the injured including declaration of August 31 as an annual state holiday on the occasion of Tribal Unity Day.” The government spoke in favour of giving compensation to the families of those who died and were injured. They discussed the possibility of also giving a government job to the next of kin. But the state is unwilling to go as far as declaring a holiday. As for the JAC’s demand for the new Lamka district, they say now that it was on the agenda but never a priority for them.

Total success or total agitation

From their initial demands, it might seem like they have indeed had considerable success – the three Bills were not given the president’s assent. Thus, two years since they were passed by the state assembly, they have not become a law. The new government assured them that they will not reintroduce these Bills without consultation with the hill areas. The government has also offered compensation to the families. Back in 2015, these might have been considered reasons enough to call off the agitation and bury the bodies. But as the agitation grew, goal posts changed and this became too little. And this brings us to 600 days of an impasse and last week’s day-long fast.

In the families, one can see the conflict – between wanting to bury their loved ones and wanting a resolution to the land question. Enkhankhup Suante’s mother, Dimngah Don, is also divided but resolute. The 19-year-old died a few days after sustaining burn injuries in the violence. He is survived by a young wife and a baby boy. A framed photo of him with his last words says, “I will be together with God. Our land shouldn’t be lost without reason or fight.” His mother says that on that fateful day, the family could see a fire in the distance. “I am also a man of the community,” is what he said before running out to get closer to the violence. His mother says, “I want to do the last rites and bury my son. There is no peace of mind. But a burial without some outcome of the reasons why they died, is not acceptable. We know that we will become foreigners in our own land with these Bills. We want protection of land by the sixth schedule. When they died, they were declared martyrs of the tribal community. So we cant decide anything. What the JAC says, we will do.”

Robert V. Jamminthang’s sister Lun Valte. Jamminthang was killed in police firing when the agitation became violent in 2015. Credit: Anoo Bhuyan

Similarly, Robert V. Jamminthang’s sister Lun Valte is also in a dilemma. The 30-year-old theology student was shot and killed in the agitation. We ask her what she hopes for. “Justice. And also for my brother,” she replies. What exactly does she want in terms of justice? “It is not about money. The reason for all this is land. So that’s what we need justice on. I don’t know what exactly. But we need protection. The valley area is trying to snatch our land,” she says.

Finally, we ask her, hasn’t there already been some success on the question of land, given that the Bills have not been passed and have not been reintroduced since?

At this point, Lun pauses. She is silent and fidgets. A JAC member says to her, “Constitutional safeguard.” “We need a constitutional safeguard for the tribal people,” Lun says.

In Manipur, a Battle Between Ethnic Identity and the Dream of Development

Manipur faces a tough choice between the BJP, a party that has a track record of dividing people on religious lines, and the Congress, whose 15-year rule in the state has been marred by corruption and misgovernance.

Manipur faces a tough choice between the BJP, a party that has a track record of dividing people on religious lines, and the Congress, whose 15-year rule in the state has been marred by corruption and misgovernance.

In Manipur, the fight between BJP and Congress is continuing to gain momentum. Credit: PTI

In Manipur, the fight between BJP and Congress is continuing to gain momentum. Credit: PTI

Imphal (Manipur): A dusty, decrepit concrete bridge divides the Imphal West district in Manipur from the Thoubal district – a geographically distinctive patch of land in the state and one that shares its border with as many as five other districts.

However, during election season, Thoubal should be referred to by its appropriate identity – the stronghold of chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

In the run-up to the assembly elections – slated for March 4 and March 8 – the general whiff in the air in Imphal is that Ibobi is invincible in Thoubal – often meaning both the constituency and the rest of the eight seats in the district.

After 15 years of ruling Manipur with an iron hand – the longest in continuum and the most dubious in terms of rights violation in the state’s post-independent history – certain things seem to be carved in stone when it concerns Ibobi.

“Almost every household there has got a job from Ibobi; they have all the basic facilities like drinking water, power supply, etc. that even parts of Imphal don’t have. The state police, otherwise known for its brutality on the common people, handles a person with care if he says he is from Thoubal. So Ibobi doesn’t even need to campaign there,” is the popular impression across the state, which a Manipur University student related to this correspondent on knowing about the impending trip to the VIP district to gauge the mood of the electorate.

thoubal-voters

Residents of Okram Ibobi Singh’s constituency Thoubal say they are likely to vote Congress, “Mahatma Gandhi’s party”. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Lilong, the first of the nine constituencies of the district when approached from Imphal West, however, welcomes you with orange flags fluttering from bamboo posts reading ‘Vote for BJP’. Lilong is the largest Muslim majority constituency of the state where the BJP’s only Muslim candidate, Mohammad Anwar Hussain, is taking on Congress’ sitting MLA and a minister in the Ibobi cabinet, Abdul Nasir.

If looked at from a broader canvas, these flags are a testimony to the huge challenge – the first ever – that Ibobi and the Congress are facing, not just in the chief minister’s home district, but also across Manipur, from the BJP.

Anti-AFSPA activist Irom Chanu Sharmila may be contesting against him from Thoubal constituency, but that is the least of his worries.

The fact that he is going to win Thoubal is virtually a foregone conclusion. His problem lies with the rest of the 39 seats spread across the five valley districts, occupied mainly by his community, the Meiteis – the state’s largest ethnic bloc that can sway the election results.

Irom Sharmila outside the PJRA office in Imphal. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Irom Sharmila outside the Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance office in Imphal. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Pocketing as many of these valley seats is, therefore, crucial for the Congress in these elections in order to reclaim power in the 60-member assembly.

In order to bag the magic number of 31, the party, like never before, has played the ethnic card with the majority community and with the Kukis – yet another important bloc of people that have considerable hold in ten to 12 assembly seats in the 12 hill districts.

In total, these districts have 20 seats. In the earlier elections, Congress followed the traditional pattern of reaping electoral hay from the majority of the 29 tribes that fill the state’s hill areas, including the Nagas.

Ibobi’s deputy, Gaikhangam, is a Naga. Phungzathang Tonsing, a senior minister in the Ibobi cabinet till recently and the former president of the state Pradesh Congress Committee, is a Zomi.

This shift from the Congress’ traditional pattern of campaigning in the state, put into action by Ibobi in early 2015, is aimed at warding off BJP’s increased foray into the state.

After claiming Assam and grabbing power from the back door in Arunachal Pradesh, the next on the BJP’s list in the Northeast, openly declared by its national leaders, is Manipur.

To begin with, this objective of the party, to be carried forward by the North East Development Alliance (NEDA), might have looked easy. After all, all the eight states in the region have had a one-party rule for long.

Still, post the Bihar debacle, in order to pocket Assam, BJP had to play with the deep anxieties of the indigenous people vis-a-vis the “outsiders” along with dangling the dream that only Narendra Modi can deliver development.

After its Assam win, it hoped to ride on the strong voter fatigue of the Congress in Manipur as well by adding the ‘D’ word that Modi spelt out during the May campaign in Assam – “development, development, development.”

When this correspondent visited the valley districts of Manipur in September, BJP was halfway into creating “a wave” for the party for the impending elections with a two-pronged strategy. One was development. The other was fuelling the strong feeling of domination by the Meitei community in the hill districts that had sprung out of the unfortunate deaths of eight young people in Churachandpur town a day after the state government passed three controversial bills on August 31, 2015. The Ibobi government was increasingly being seen in the hills as a “Meitei government”.

churchandpur

A poster in Churchandpur depicting the nine young people who were killed during protests a day after the state government passed three controversial bills on August 31, 2015. Credit: Amanat Khullar

According to a BJP state source at the time, “We are looking at the Churachandpur developments as an opportunity to electorally enter the Christian-majority districts, which otherwise will be very difficult.”

The Modi government did what it could to facilitate that entry. It conducted two rounds of formal peace talks with the United People’s Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) in June and October. These two umbrella groups that comprise over 20 insurgent outfits active on the Indo-Myanmar border have been under suspension of operation since 2008 following an agreement with the central and state governments. Even as the locals had hoped that these talks would usher in peace and development in the region, the UPA governments did not open any formal interactions with them.

Both UPF and the KNO have been demanding their own versions of a “separate administration” of the hill areas, which are inhabited by a number of tribes that come under the nomenclature Zomi and those who like to differentiate themselves as Kukis. The Meitei community is considered as being opposed to this demand.

According to a reliable source, the passage of the three Bills in the state assembly was a reaction by the Ibobi government to the “talks,” including a meeting of these groups with former Mizoram chief minister and a BJP ally Zoramthanga in Shillong around the same time. In that meeting, they formally firmed a strategy to demand a “separate administration” in the form of “a state within a state” under Article 244A of the constitution and presented the Mizo National Front leader as their interlocutor with the Centre.

Along with penetrating into the hills, BJP cosied up to the Hindu Meitei voters in the valley through its network of the RSS. It promised “a clean government” as opposed to the Ibobi dispensation, often seen by the community as dictatorial and corrupt and one accused of having the blood of its own people on its hands.

The astute politician that Ibobi is, he was watching the BJP moves rather closely. By the time the year took a turn after the Churachandpur deaths, Ibobi made his first strike. He succeeded in carrying away the Kukis from the agitation against his government. When The Wire visited Churachandpur at the end of August, the Kukis did not take part in the Tribal Unity Day organised by the agitators demanding a “separate administration”.

Also read: Fears Over Land, Identity Fuel Manipur’s Bonfire of Anxieties

“We are opposed to the Bills but the demand for a separate administration is new. We don’t support it,” Kuki Inpi president Thangsei Haokip told The Wire at the time.

According to sources, Ibobi could work on the delicate fissures between the UPF and the KNO over the demand for a “separate administration” (KNO prefers a Kuki state) and “bring KNO to his side in these elections.” However, the UPF is believed to have stuck to the BJP.

If this divide becomes prominent in these elections, then the BJP’s hope of wresting a majority in the hill districts may not be fulfilled.

The Naga vote is crucial for ten to 11 seats. Naga People’s Front (NPF), which has fielded 15 candidates, is a strong contender in some hill districts. Though NPF is an ally of the BJP in Nagaland, it has decided to go alone in Manipur. And so has the NDA partner National People’s Party (NPP).

Losing all hope of winning as a Congress candidate from Churachandpur, Phungzathang resigned from the party last week even after securing a Congress ticket and decided to join the NPP.

Alongside polarising the hill vote, the Ibobi dispensation also worked on the valley districts to stop the march of the BJP. Come November, the BJP’s apple cart was toppled in those areas by – as a local reporter in Imphal told this correspondent – “The surgical strike of Ibobi Singh by creating seven new districts bifurcating the hill districts.”

In one stroke the state government turned the ethnic fissures between the Naga and the Kuki tribes and the Meitei and the rest of the tribes – mainly the Nagas – to its party’s advantage. In the public eye, Ibobi came across as a leader who could take on the Nagas.

More the Nagas expressed their anger through the United Naga Council (UNC) against the state government’s decision by intensifying the economic blockade, the more it helped Ibobi cosy up to the Kukis and the Meitei voters on ethnic lines.

Also read: In Blockade-Hit Imphal, Anger, Helplessness and a Simmering Hope for Normalcy

Towards the end of December, the body of the sole Kuki boy, Khaizamang Touthang – one of the eight being kept in the Churachandpur district hospital morgue since September 2015 to protest against the passage of the three Bills – was “stolen” and “delivered” to the family for burial, seemingly with help from KNO cadres.

Kukis and the Nagas are seen as traditional rivals. The early 1990s saw much bloodshed between the two. The demand for a full-fledged district status to the Sadar Hills (Kangpokpi), which the Ibobi government recently fulfilled, has been a sore point between the two communities for decades.

Besides the Meiteis viewing the UNC blockade as “an attempt to sap the economy of the valley areas,” the Modi government’s “secret” framework agreement with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) to reach a Naga Accord, which might compromise the territorial integrity of Manipur, has further helped Ibobi firm up his electoral strategy.

The Centre’s wait-and-watch policy with the UNC on the economic blockade has proved to be costly for the state BJP. Sensing which way the wind was blowing, the party’s most popular face, Kh. Joykishan jumped ship and joined Congress in late December, thus reversing the trend of Congress bigwigs moving over to the BJP till then.

Last week, while travelling through Kakching, a new district sliced out of Thoubal, the results of Ibobi’s “surgical strike” were quite visible. Mounds of rice, vegetables and flowers offered by voters, a local tradition called ‘Athenpot’ to show the community’s support to a contestant, were placed in various parts of the district in support of Congress.

rice-offering-congress

Mounds of rice and flowers offered by voters, a local tradition called ‘Athenpot,’ to show the community’s support to a contestant. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Ibobi has continued to play his strategy. On February 11, the Congress in a legislative party meeting passed a resolution to ban the UNC and wrote to the Centre in that regard, thus sending out another strong message to the voters opposed to the Naga assertion in the state.

A day later, addressing a sizeable crowd in Sagolband constituency in the Imphal West district, the chief minister again spoke of the “threat” of the NSCN (I-M) on the territorial integrity of the state and accused the BJP of supporting its greater Nagalim dream, which includes integrating the Naga inhabited areas of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

The fact that the NPF is an ally of BJP and there is a likelihood of the party entering into a post-electoral understanding with it in Manipur – if it manages to bag the adequate numbers to form a government – is yet another point that may work in the favour of Congress.

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh addressing a rally in Imphal West district. Credit: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty

Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh addressing a rally in Imphal West district. Credit: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty

If the huge mound of ‘Athenpot’ at the Sagolband rally was any indication of the valley voters’ support to Congress, the BJP then certainly needs to up its game in the Meitei dominated districts.

The party is already suffering dissent in some of the hill and valley constituencies due to its selection of candidates. To make things worse, the party doesn’t have a chief ministerial candidate.

“I know that if I vote for the Congress who will it be who will take on the Nagas. But that’s not the case if I vote for BJP. They have too many leaders, too much infighting. It is not just about the party, it is also about the person,” said a voter in Nambol constituency in Bishnupur district. Former state BJP president Th. Chaoba Singh, who is contesting the Nambol seat, is one of the possible contenders of the CM post.

BJP state party general secretary and the sole MLA Th. Biswajit Singh. Credit: Amanat Khullar

BJP state party general secretary and the sole MLA Th. Biswajit Singh. Credit: Amanat Khullar

“As of now, we are contesting the polls with Modi ji as our face. He is the face of change and development that the state desperately needs,” state party general secretary and the sole MLA Th. Biswajit Singh said.

Biswajit, yet another chief ministerial contender, also claimed, “Our people are stoic enough to take the economic blockade in their stride. They are now going back to questioning the Ibobi government on all the corruption it has done over the years with public money.”

To revive the public’s memory, on February 13, union minister Prakash Javadekar, in charge of the state polls, flagged off 20 vehicles to tour across the 60 constituencies with a 15-minute video on “blockade, bandh, corruption, lack of drinking water supply”. The party is also giving the final touches to a “vision document” aimed at the state’s development. According to a party source, BJP national general secretary and RSS pracharak Ram Lal “is making a ground check to see what more needs to be done.”

The trump card that the party has kept for last, when the poll frenzy is likely to heighten, is a visit by Modi. “We are hoping it will take place in the last week of February,” said state BJP president Bhabananda Singh.

Conversations with the state party leaders clearly indicate that they are waiting for the national leaders, such as Ram Lal and Ram Madhav, and the NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, to “do something” to turn the tables on the Ibobi government.

“The support for the Ibobi government in the valley districts peaked a bit earlier than needed to get the most effect of it in the elections. This will certainly give the BJP time to try its best to direct public attention towards the issues it worked on, such as corruption, extra-judicial killings, misgovernance, etc.” commented a well-known Meitei intellectual in Imphal, who declined to be named.

“After keeping quiet for so long, a team of Central Bureau of Investigation has suddenly arrived in Imphal on February 15 to question and record the statements of Akoijam Jhalajit (the commandant of second India Reserve Battalion) in connection with the killing of C. Sanjit (a former militant killed in Imphal in 2009). In such a scenario, the Congress will have to keep its ethnic strategy going strong,”

He pointed out an interesting dichotomy the BJP is facing in Manipur vis-à-vis the Assam polls. “In Assam, it worked for the BJP because of the ethnicity card, which is now being played by the Congress.”

Congress supporters in Imphal. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Congress supporters in Imphal. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Nevertheless, raising issues of corruption and misgovernance by the Ibobi government will certainly deliver BJP some success in the valley areas. However, there exists a strong voter dilemma over whom to choose between the two warring national parties, both in the hills and the valley.

“Ideally, I would not like to vote for the BJP since it religiously divides people. I would like to support the Congress which is Mahatma Gandhi’s party but I seem to have no choice this time because the Congress didn’t listen to us,” said a voter in Churachandpur town.

The same predicament is palpable even in the valley.

“People in my constituency want to support BJP but we are also worried about its closeness to the Nagas. In that case, we will have to go for Ibobi Singh who will stand for us,” stated a voter in Moirang in Bishnupur district.

With electioneering gaining pace, the ground will certainly shift in the coming days, particularly in the valley – either more firmly towards the ethnic sentiments or towards the ‘D’ word, which Modi typically mouths when it comes to executing BJP’s political ambitions in the Northeast.

Narendra Modi Is BJP’s Face For Manipur Elections: Bhabananda Singh

The BJP Manipur chief discusses the core issues the party is raising in the elections, why the party hasn’t declared a chief ministerial candidate for the state and more.

The BJP Manipur chief discusses the core issues the party is raising in the elections, why the party hasn’t declared a chief ministerial candidate for the state and more.

Manipur BJP president K. Bhabananda Singh. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Manipur BJP president K. Bhabananda Singh. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Imphal, Manipur: With less than a month left for the two-phased assembly polls in Manipur, electioneering in the economic blockade-hit state is gradually picking up steam. For the first time, the well-entrenched Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress will face a stiff electoral challenge from its arch rival at the national level – the Bharatiya Janata Party – in the assembly elections that are set for March 4 and March 8.

The BJP had succeeded in building an early momentum against the 15-year-old Congress government in the state, particularly in the Meitei-dominated valley areas – a crucial advantage since 40 of the 60 assembly constituencies are in the valley districts. However, the economic blockade called by the powerful Naga civil society, the United Naga Council (UNC), against the state government’s decision to carve out seven new districts, and the resultant blocking of the northeastern state’s two arterial highways – NH-2 and NH-37 – by UNC supporters since November 1 have largely turned the tide in favour of the Congress government.

Also read: In Blockade-Hit Imphal, Anger, Helplessness and a Simmering Hope for Normalcy

The framework agreement between the BJP government and the NSCN-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) which has been kept ‘secret’ since August 2015 has caused concerns among the majority Meitei community about the central government’s intentions with regard to the NSCN’s demand for greater Nagaland, which includes parts of the Manipur state.

Though the Centre has held two rounds of tripartite talks with the UNC and the state government to remove the stalemate, many in the valley areas suffering from the acute shortage of essential commodities and the sudden rise in the price of goods that come from the mainland through the blocked national highways blame the Narendra Modi government for not doing enough.

The suffering of the people was further aggravated by the Centre’s decision to demonetise high currency notes at about the same time in November.

In an interview with The Wire, the BJP state president Kshetrimayum Bhabananda Singh said, “Yes, the ongoing blockade and demonetisation did break the momentum of the party; it did affect us, but that time has passed. People are now forgetting about those hardships and are beginning to see again the reasons why the Ibobi government should go. The anti-incumbency is still very high.”

Excerpts from the interview follow. The interview has been edited for clarity.

What are the core issues the BJP is raising in these elections?

There are too many issues. There has been 15 years of misrule. We have brought out a 20-page chargesheet against the state government in which we have named 100 failures of the government under various heads, like corruption, scams in recruitment, fake encounters, law and order, in governance, in education and employment, and in infrastructure.

There are 1,528 uninvestigated cases of alleged fake encounters in Manipur that the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of. In 73 of the 323 government schools in Manipur, not a single student passed the class ten exams. Manipur is a water-rich state but only 15% of households get drinking water in their houses; there is widespread drug abuse in the state. The divide between the hill and the valley areas has widened in the last 15 years and as many as 171 centrally-funded projects are behind schedule by more than eight years.

The Ibobi government awarded Rs 224 crore to a company for cleaning of phumdis (floating islands) from the Loktak Lake. The company existed only on paper and over Rs 400 crore of public money was looted.

There are many such issues for which this government needs to give an answer to the people of the state.

What does your party promise to the people of Manipur?

We have promised a corruption-free, clean government in the state, something that people of the state deserve. We want to remove the culture of bandh and blockade from the state. The bandhs and blockades cause a loss of Rs 30 crore a day to the people of Manipur. However, instead of solving the issues, the chief minister says bandh and blockades are normal in Manipur, nothing to worry.

But the ongoing economic blockade called by the UNC seems to have affected the prospects of your party, particularly in the crucial valley areas. Your party’s government at the Centre is being accused of going soft on the UNC.

It is Ibobi Singh who has put the blame on us, not the people of the state. The central government tried very hard to lift the blockade through talks but the UNC has not spelt out what exactly they want.

On February 10, the Centre said that there might not be any more talks with UNC on the blockade. (On February 7, the home ministry said the next date of tripartite talks between the Centre, the state government and the UNC on the issue of creating seven new districts by the Ibobi Singh government was slated for March 25.) The main concern of the people in the valley has been about the border of the state but the central government has time and again said the boundary of Manipur will not be compromised. Our party president Amit Shah ji and Prime Minister Narendra Modi-ji have assured the people about it many times. They have said, have faith in us.

Anyway, it was the Congress which started the talks with the Nagas; our party has only tried to bring the talks to a logical conclusion. Now Ibobi Singh is trying to put us in the corner on the Naga Accord because the framework agreement is still not out in the open. The Congress has trapped us on it; it has created a problem for us. Still, this issue can’t save the Congress government. The anti-incumbency is still very strong against the party.

While it is clear to the voters that Congress has a chief ministerial candidate, but it is not the case with the BJP. There seem to be also quite a few contenders to the post in your party. Don’t you think it should declare a name to send out a clear message to the voters?

Well, the central party leaders will be able to give you a better answer on that. But I can very clearly tell you that I am not in the race. You are right, we have many leaders; there is no dearth of leaders in our party. We have some good young leaders too. The party is known for grooming young leaders, both at the state and central levels.

So, as of now, it will be decided by the party after the elections. Also, in none of the poll-bound states has the BJP declared any chief ministerial candidates.

But Manipur is different from other states going to the polls. BJP declared that it would make the Northeast Congress-mukt for which it formed the North East Development Alliance. Manipur is one of the last Congress strongholds in the region. The party declared a chief ministerial candidate in Assam which certainly helped it, so why not here too?

Well, I agree that it did help the party in Assam. But the situation may be different in Manipur. I will tell you what I said before; the central leaders will be able to give you a better answer on it.

So, you don’t have a particular face of the party in these elections?

People here usually don’t care much for central leaders of any party but they know Narendra Modi ji. He is our face in these elections. People think he is serious about solving many problems of the Northeast.

We have a long list of star campaigners for the party in the coming days including national and regional leaders. We are hoping that in the last week of electioneering, Modi-ji will also visit Manipur. We have requested for two rallies to be addressed by him, one in Imphal and one in Churachandpur. It will have a dramatic effect among the voters.

The party’s national president Amit Shah-ji will also address rallies in the state in the coming days besides national general secretary Ram Madhav and NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma.

There has been considerable unrest in the hill districts of Manipur for over a year now, most parts of which may not go with the Congress in these elections. While that has created a conducive atmosphere for the BJP to make a political entry in these areas for the first time, will the party be able to deliver a solution and bring peace to those areas?

Right now we have more support in the hill areas than in the valley. People there have been fed up of Congress. There is no governance in these areas. The roads are in a terrible state, there are no basic facilities. We promise to give the people of these areas what they have not got so far. So it should be able to solve their problems.

While BJP has an alliance with the Naga People’s Front in Nagaland, it is contesting the NPF in some of the hill districts. Same with NDA partner Nationalist People’s Party. Why didn’t it go for an alliance with these parties in Manipur?

Yes, the alliance with NPF didn’t happen in Manipur. It wanted to go alone. But we can always have post-poll alliance with these like-minded parties. With the support of like-minded parties, we hope to form the next government in the state.

‘Substantial Progress’ in Manipur Talks, Economic Blockade Likely to End Soon, Says Centre

The next round of tripartite talks between the Centre, the Manipur government and representatives of United Naga Council is scheduled for February 7.

The next round of tripartite talks between the Centre, the Manipur government and representatives of United Naga Council is scheduled for February 7.

Imphal-economic-blockade-PTI

The ongoing blockade has led to a spurt of violence in different parts of the state. Credit: PTI

New Delhi: The February 3 talks among the officials of the Centre, the Manipur government and representatives of United Naga Council (UNC) in New Delhi made “substantial progress” in breaking the deadlock between the state government and the Naga civil society body. The next round would take place on February 7.

A late night press note released by the home ministry on Friday stated that an agreement had been made between the state government and the UNC to lift the over three-month-long economic blockade and it is likely to be signed shortly.

“There was substantial progress on the issue in the talks. A few points needed further discussions at their (UNC) organisational level,” it said.

“Next tripartite is expected on February 7, 2017,” it added.

Since November 1, UNC has continued to block two arterial highways – NH-2 and NH-37 – to protest the state government’s decision to create seven new districts in the state, alleging that such a move would bifurcate the ancestral land of the Nagas.

While it said the state government had earlier agreed to consult the Nagas before making any such move, the Okram Ibobi Singh government argued that the state administration has the right to create new districts for ease of administration and need not consult anyone.

The ongoing blockade has led to a spurt of violence in different parts of the state while leading to acute scarcity of essential commodities as hundreds of trucks have been stuck on both the highways.

blockade_pti

Representational image. Credit: PTI

The Centre’s move to dispatch companies of security forces to the state to clear the highways have not been successful with many women protesters squatting on the roads. There have also been incidents of firing, allegedly by the member of NSCN (Isak-Muivah).

As per the orders of the magistrate, the UNC leaders Gaidon Kamei and Sangkhel Stephen – who have been in jail since November 25 for spearheading the blockade – also took part in the talks held on Friday.

The meeting, which went on for over four hours, “is likely to have some problems in reaching an agreement as the leaders of the Kuki community have raised objection to the talks saying it should concern only lifting of the blockade and not creation of the news districts (mainly of SADAR Hills). If the latter is discussed, then Kuki Inpi, the main representative body of the community, should also be a part of the talks as being the majority community in that area it concerns them too,” said a source in Imphal.

On February 2, in an “open memorandum” addressed to the members of the “proposed tripartite talks”, Kuki Inpi said if the talks turn towards the territory of Manipur state, the three main communities – the Meites, the Kukis and the Nagas – “must be fully and equally represented.”

NE Dispatch: Manipur Awaits Tripartite Talks; Second World War Bombs Found in Nagaland

A round-up of what’s happening in India’s Northeast.

A round-up of what’s happening in India’s Northeast.

Vehicles set on fire during the blockade in Manipur. Credit: PTI

Vehicles set on fire during the blockade in Manipur. Credit: PTI

Manipur: Crucial tripartite talks between UNC, Centre and state government on February 3 in New Delhi

After a few failed attempts, the Centre, the Manipur government and the United Naga Council (UNC) will finally hold tripartite talks on February 3 in New Delhi, which will aim at lifting the over three-month-long economic blockade that has crippled normal life across the state.

Since November 1, the UNC has been protesting the decision of the state government to create (first two and later five more) new districts in the state claiming it would bifurcate the ancestral land of the Nagas. The powerful civil society body representing the Nagas living in Manipur has pointed to a few earlier assurances from the state government that they would be consulted before any such decisions were taken. The state government, however, argues that it has the full authority to create a new district for ease of administering.

The confrontation has led to the UNC blocking the two arterial national highways to the state which has broken the supply chain of essential commodities, leading to an acute shortage of cooking gas, fuel and other daily necessities for months, besides leading to counter blockades in the valley districts causing incidents of violence and arson. Though the state government had asked the Centre for 60 companies of paramilitary forces to clear the highways of protesters, many of whom are women squatting on the roads, it has so far sent only 29 companies for the job. There have been reports of attack on trucks carrying goods, even with security cover provided by the armed forces.

According to latest news reports, UNC president Gaidon Kamei and publicity secretary S. Stephen – in jail since November 25 – are also likely to take part in the talks. The chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Imphal East has refused to grant them bail, but has agreed to the duo’s plea to be allowed to be a part of the talks. CJM A. Noutuneswori has reportedly directed the state government to facilitate their travel and participation in the talks in Delhi.

As per UNC officials, the talks might go on for about a week as there are many issues to be covered both with the state and the central governments. One of the immediate demands is the unconditional release of the two UNC leaders from jail. Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has been asking the UNC to first call off the blockade.

Political observers are looking at the impending tripartite talks as crucial in the poll-bound state, where many in the majority Meitei community are increasingly looking at the BJP-led central government as a supporter of the UNC’s demands. The two-phased assembly elections to be held in March is likely to be a two-cornered fight between the BJP and the ruling Congress, which seems to have established an edge over the crucial Meitei and Kuki votes due to the ongoing crisis with the UNC.

Manipur: One of the nine bodies of protesters allegedly killed by police bullets in Churachandpur in 2015 was ‘stolen’ from the district hospital mortuary; now buried in a local cemetery

Faces painted as mark of protest by tribals, Churachandpur, August 31, 2016. Credit: Akhil Kumar

Faces painted as mark of protest by tribals, Churachandpur, August 31, 2016. Credit: Akhil Kumar

The shifting support on community lines to the ongoing agitation in Manipur’s Churachandpur district over the passage of three controversial Bills in the state assembly in August 2015 saw an unforeseen effect recently – the body of the youngest of the nine killed, allegedly in police firing in the town over a year and a half ago, was “stolen” from the hospital mortuary.

The body of 11-year-old Khaizamang Touthang – belonging to the Kuki community residing on one side of the town – was later buried in the Bijang cemetery, close to where his family resides.

The agitation leaders accuse “the state government of using militants to steal the body and thereby try and weaken the movement.”

Khaizamang belonged to the Kuki community while the rest of the eight dead young men lying in the mortuary belonged to tribes that come under the nomenclature Zomi. Though the Kukis were initially a part of the agitation against the state government, in mid 2016 they resigned from it stating that they were still opposed to the Bills but would not support keeping the bodies in the district hospital mortuary to press for another demand – that of a “separate administration”.

It has been over 500 days now that the bodies have been kept unburied.

The joint action committee of Churachandpur, spearheading the agitation, has been demanding not just the withdrawal of the Bills as a condition for the burial of the bodies but also “separate administration” of the region stating “years of neglect by the majority Meitei community”.

Though the president rejected the Bills in June 2015, the demand for a separate administration continues in Churachandpur, home to as many as 15 tribes and the state’s largest district which has recently been bifurcated to create another district, Pherzawl.

Nagaland: Over 100 WW2 bombs unearthed in Kohima

The Second World War cemetery in Kohima. Credit: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty

The Second World War cemetery in Kohima. Credit: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty

On January 30, Kohima police took possession of as many as 122 bombs, believed to be dating back to the Second World War, from a construction site near an old Red Cross building in the capital city’s PR Hill Colony.

Local media reports quoting Kohima police officials said the bombs, unearthed by the labourers, were of different sizes. The police, on being informed of the discovery, at once reached the spot with a bomb detection and disposal squad and took possession of the bombs. As per the bomb squad, the bombs are no longer active.

This is the second time since September last year that the police has taken possession of such bombs. In end September 2016, it recovered two bombs from the same site.

Kohima is known for one of the bloodiest World War II battles between the British and the Japanese forces in 1944. The city has a sprawling cemetery of the Allied forces soldiers who fell during that battle.

Tripura: State government confiscates properties of Rose Valley chit fund organisation

Gautam Kundu, main accused in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. Credit: PTI

Gautam Kundu, main accused in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. Credit: PTI

Even as news of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) castigating an officer for being seen with the wife of the main accused Gautam Kundu in the Rose Valley chit fund scam hit national headlines, the Tripura government has begun tightening the noose around the company by beginning to confiscate both its movable and immovable properties in the state.

Local news reports said state principal secretary (finance) M. Nagaraju issued a notification on January 20 as per the state’s Protection of Depositors Rights’ Act, asking the district and sub-divisional magistrates of eight districts to attach all it movable and immovable assets. As per a state government official, the notification has led to confiscation of property in over 20 places across the state from January 21 onwards.

The Act was passed by the state assembly in 2000, following many cases of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and chit fund organisations defrauding depositors in the state.

The Rose Valley chit fund was launched in Tripura many years ago and has allegedly swindled money from a large number of investors. In 2013, the state government handed over the cases of 37 such companies to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) out of which the CBI picked only five, including the Rose Valley case. In 2015, following a probe by the ED and the CBI, its proprietor Gautam Kundu was arrested in Kolkata.

With the menace of chit fund companies continuing unabated in the state, the Tripura high court, last year, asked the Manik Sarkar government to set up a special investigation team to probe all the defaulting NBFCs and chit fund organisations operating in the state. As per the state inspector general of police (law and order) K. V. Sreejesh, who also heads the SIT team formed, it is probing 78 such cases leading to the arrest of 112 persons.

Lately, opposition parties in the state, particularly the BJP, have been accusing the Left government of going slow on the Rose Valley case.

NE Dispatch: Fuel Airlifted to Manipur; Two Assam Rifles Jawans Killed in Arunachal

A round-up of what’s happening in India’s Northeast.

A round-up of what’s happening in India’s Northeast.

An oil taker being loaded into an IAF aircraft in Borjhar airport in Guwahati for Imphal. Credit: PTI

An oil taker being loaded into an IAF aircraft in Borjhar airport in Guwahati for Imphal. Credit: PTI

Manipur: Centre airlifts fuel tankers to poll-bound state as economic blockade continues

The Centre has deployed the Indian Air Force to airlift approximately 96,000 litres of petrol and diesel to Manipur early this week, a move that comes nearly three months after the state has seen an acute fuel crisis due to the ongoing economic blockade by the United Naga Council (UNC), a powerful state-based Naga civil society organisation.

As per media reports, three forays have been made by the IAF’s C-17 Globemaster, its largest military transport aircraft, from Guwahati’s Borjhar airport to Imphal starting January 22 following an urgent request by the Indian Oil Corporation as only two days of fuel was left in stock in the trouble-torn state.

The decision to airlift fuel was taken after the central forces deployed on the highway, NH3, failed to securely escort the stranded oil tankers into the state. On January 23, armed militants attacked a convoy of about 300 oil tankers and trucks carrying essential commodities to the state on NH 37, leading to an exchange of fire between them and security forces escorting the convoy. A few weeks ago, two truck drivers were injured in a similar attack. Local media reports quoting police sources said the militants belonged to the NSCN (Isak Muivah) faction. No truck is able to ply on NH2, connecting the state to the rest of India through Jiribam on the Assam border.

The Manipur government said even though it asked for 60 companies of paramilitary forces to escort the trucks on both highways, only 29 companies were sent to give security cover to the trucks on NH 37.

Since November 1, people across the state have been facing acute shortages of not just fuel but all essential commodities, leading to many incidents of violence. Attempts by the Centre and the state government to bring the UNC to the discussion table to find a solution have not been successful. The UNC rejected a call by the state government for talks in Imphal on January 23 and instead mooted tripartite talks in New Delhi after the unconditional release of its president, Gaidon Kamei, from jail.

The UNC is opposed to the creation of seven new districts by the state, particularly Jiribam and SADAR Hills, alleging that the move would bifurcate the ancestral land of the Nagas residing in the state.

Arunachal Pradesh: Two Assam Rifles jawans killed in militant ambush near Assam border

Representative image. Credit: Reuters

Representative image. Credit: Reuters

Two jawans of the 13 Assam Rifles were killed by militants near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on January 22. The jawans were a part of a foot patrol intending to open the route on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border for tourists going to the Pansau Pass winter festival in Changlang district of Arunachal.

In a statement issued by the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) later in that day, the banned separatist outfit claimed it carried out the attack with Coordination Committee (CorCom) of four Manipur-based groups – People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Progressive), Revolutionary People’s Front and United National Liberation Front.

The statement – signed by M.M. Ngouba, chairman of CorCom’s “joint military commission” and Paresh Asom, “chief of army staff” of ULFA (I) – said, “The joint team killed three soldiers and injured two or more persons and was able to seize three weapons (two AK-series rifles and one Insas rifle).” The statement called it Operation Barak.

As per local news reports, 15 to 20 militants lobbed grenades at two tourist vehicles on NH38 near Jairampur in Assam’s Tinsukia district, about 8km from the inter-state border, around 8 am. Local police said the jawans died from the blast caused by the grenades hurled by the militants at them.

The jawans were identified as riflemen L. Ginlan Ven Nagaithe and Khampai Wangsu. Police claimed to have recovered the body of two militants from the site along with some IEDs, grenades, a pistol and a G3 rifle.

Media reports quoting the tourists in the two vehicles said they ran into the forest as soon as they heard loud explosions near them. A tourist told this correspondent that he and his group were caught in Arunachal Pradesh for two days as the border was sealed after the ambush. The ambush site was about 35 km from the festival site.

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu condemned the attack meant to augment tourism in the state and announced that compensation would be paid from the chief minister’s relief fund to the families of the two jawans belonging to Arunachal and Manipur.

Assam special DG (law and order) Kuladhar Saikia reached the spot soon after the incident to take stock of the situation. The attack took place three days after a high level security review meeting was conducted by Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay in Tinsukia’s Makum district, about 60 km from the ambush site.

Sikkim: Centre promises railway line in the state

In the not too distant future, the people of Sikkim will see a train chugging into the state capital, Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu told a gathering in Gangtok on January 21.

Prabhu, speaking at an interactive session, said a foundation stone would be re-laid in Rangpo, a border town adjoining Siliguri (New Jailpaiguri) in West Bengal in the coming months, thus setting in motion the long-awaited project of the Union ministry to include the state in the country’s railway map. The railway link to Rangpo would be from Sevoke, a 45-km stretch.

“Now, all hurdles have been addressed and within a few days, all the paperwork for the rail project in Sikkim wll be completed. The actual physical work will kick off within a few months from now,” the minister said. He felt a railway line to Gangtok would increase the prospect of the state’s tourism and organic farming sectors, besides fulfilling the long-pending demand of the people for better links with the rest of the country.

State MP P.D. Rai, present on the occasion with chief secretary A.K. Shrivastava, the general manager of the Northeast Frontier Railway H.K. Jaggi and the secretary of the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce, apprised the visiting minister of the hardships people of the state had been facing due to the lack of rail connectivity.

As per local news reports, state governor Shriniwas Patil too raised the issue and sought the Centre’s intervention to expedite the rail project at the earliest.

The minister, on a two-day visit to the state, also released an “Achievement Report of the Northern Frontier Railways in the North East (2014-2016)” to “reflect the good governance (of the Centre) in the region.”

Manipur Civil Society Delegation Meets Rajnath Singh to Seek End to Economic Blockade

The United Naga Council had called the blockade, ongoing since November 1, in protest against the state government’s decision to carve out two new districts.

The United Naga Council had called the blockade, ongoing since November 1, in protest against the state government’s decision to carve out two new districts.

Manipur chief minister Ibobi Singh with union home minister Rajnath Singh. Credit: Twitter

Manipur chief minister Ibobi Singh with union home minister Rajnath Singh. Credit: Twitter

New Delhi: Joint Forum for Peace, a civil society organisation comprising 64 outfits representing various ethnic groups living in Manipur, met home minister Rajnath Singh today to urge the Centre to help end the economic blockade in the state that has been on since November 1.

The blockade has led to a scarcity of essential commodities, affecting normal life across the state for over two months now.

The 17-member team comprising representatives of organisations like United Committee-Manipur, Kuki Inpi-Manipur, All Manipur United Clubs Organisation, All Manipur Muslim Coordinating Committee, Committee of Civil Societies-Kangleipak, Kabuli Mothers’ Association and All Manipur Tribal Students Union, met Singh at his office “for an hour” and submitted a memorandum “to appeal to him to do something that is tangible to the people of the state that the Centre is really willing to end their miseries caused by the 78-day-long economic blockade called by the United Naga Council(UNC).”

“We also apprised him of two things. One, that people across the state have a feeling that the Centre is not doing enough in this regard. Two, that if the situation continues like this, it can turn into a bloody ethnic fight, like one saw in 1992-93, where many innocent people lost their lives,” said Elangbam Johnson, the spokesperson of the peace forum.

Addressing a press meet at the Manipur Information Centre, Johnson said, “The minister said he is well aware of the issue but whatever he said was nothing different from what he said earlier. But the people of the state are tired of this political game playing between the Centre and the state. In the process, the fundamental right to life given to the people of the state by the constitution is being affected.”

The civil society delegation with home minister Rajnath Singh. By special arrangement

The civil society delegation with home minister Rajnath Singh. By special arrangement

The delegation also accused “the union ministers visiting the state singing the same tune.”

“In the run-up to the assembly elections (slated for March 4 and 8), many union ministers are visiting but when it comes to the economic blockade, they have only one standard answer to the people – maintaining law and order is under the state jurisdiction. This is happening even after the Supreme Court, and the Manipur and the Gauhati high courts have said in response to PILs against economic blockades in the state that the Manipur and central governments should take necessary measures to end them,” pointed out Johnson.

He said, “A litre of petrol costs between Rs 150 and 300, that too after standing in over a kilometer in queue. There is scarcity of cooking gas and other essential items. Anything that happens in Kashmir is noted by the government and the media but not when it comes to Manipur. In 2011, an economic blockade went on for 120 days, in 2010, it was for 53 days, and now for 78 days and counting. The same organisation [UNC] has been calling these blockade. We think it is the democratic right of every organisation to oppose a decision of the government but that doesn’t mean it can take away the rights of the public who has no role to play in it.”

The UNC had called the blockade in protest against the state government’s recent decision to carve out two new districts of Jiribam and Sadar Hills (Kangpokpi). With the UNC continuing the blockade, the state police arrested its president Gaidon Kamei and publicity secretary Sanhui Stephen on November 25. They have been in jail since.

“The demand for districts in Jiribam and the SADAR Hills is nothing new, agitation has been going on since 1972. Many times the government has promised it and this time it relented,” said T.N. Haokip, president of Kuki Inpi and the member of the delegation.

“A section of people started a counter blockade too, stopping goods and vehicles from going to the Naga districts of the state. It turned violent on December 18 where over 20 vehicles were burnt. Recently, unidentified gunmen shot dead a driver of a goods truck and injured two other people while they were proceeding towards Imphal on the national highway 2 with the help of central forces which were sent to the state to break the blockade. We told the minister that sending more central forces is not the answer but bringing the UNC representatives to the table is. The Centre must do it as soon as possible and by all means,” said a member of the team.

On January 18, Singh held a meeting with the Manipur and Nagaland chief ministers to find a solution to the problem. Singh reportedly urged Nagaland chief minister T.R. Zeliang to intervene in the matter.

As per home ministry officials, the Centre has called for tripartite talks with the Manipur government and the UNC on December 15. However, it was not attended by the Manipur government.