Konsakhul asks ‘tenants’ Leilon village to pack up and leave Liangmais' rally decries Mar 26 assault

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 30 : As they have forfeited the goodwill and trust of the people of the host Konsakhul village, the Leilon village must leave, said Konsakhul Village Authority today.
“It is constrained to declare that Konsakhul (Konsaram) has resolved not to extend or renew the permission to settle it had granted to Leilon Vaiphei village in 1920. It is the considered opinion of Konsakhul village that in general public interests, Leilon Vaiphei village must leave the Konsakhul village premises for good as they have forfeited the goodwill and trust of Konsakhul people, the host village,” the VA said in a statement it released to the media.
Notably, this statement of the VA came a day after it had served a 24 hour ultimatum to the State Government to book all perpetrators involved in the brutal assault of two civilians on March 26.
Notably, a confrontation between the two villages, Konsakhul and Leilon, that followed had injured many people.
The Konsakhul VA said at least 20 people were hurt and the two persons who were severely injured were receiving treatment at Raj Medicity in Imphal.
Meanwhile, the Liangmai community carried out a massive rally at Kangpokpi district today condemning the March 26 incident.
The rally, organised by Liangmai Naga Students Union (Eastern Zone), started from the campus of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and proceeded towards National Highway No 2.
However, a large force of police personnel deployed stopped the protestors from proceeding on the Highway. A brief commotion took place, however police were able to control the protestors.
Liangmai Naga Students Union (Eastern Zone) chairman Timothy Chawang said the rally was carried out to condemn the recent incident and also to urge the Government and the authorities concerned to book personnel of Leimakhong police and “illegal immigrants” who were involved in the brutal assault of two persons on March 26.
Meanwhile, the Konsakhul Village authority, in its statement reiterated that Leilon village  was given permission by Konsakhul to settle on its land on humanitarian grounds and they [Leilon people] are “tenants”.
But as their number increased over the decades, they went against the spirit of the agreement and started undermining the interests of Konsakhul village and its people, it said.
“The incident has led the people of Konsakhul to conclude that the mutual respect and peaceful co-existence that we anticipated from Leilon Vaiphei village has been proven to be wrong. As Leilon Vaiphei village has lost the goodwill and trust of Konsakhul people, the authority has resolved not to renew or extend the permission to settle. Accordingly, in general public interest, it is the considered opinion of Konsakhul Village Authority that Leilon Vaiphei village leave Konsakhul village premises in peace at the earliest,” it said.
It may be noted here that the Konsakhul Village Authority had earlier alleged that recently, a group of tourists coming to Konsakhul waterfall and some pilgrims from Imphal who were going to Kouna Leirembi were also stopped and harassed at Leilon village by “illegal immigrants''.
The VA had identified “illegal influx of immigrants in the area” since the last several decades as the root cause of all the problems.
It claimed that there has been an uncontrolled influx of illegal immigrants mainly from Myanmar being facilitated for vote bank politics and electoral gain since the last 50 years.
Over time, these illegal immigrants have gained a demographic edge over the indigenous communities. In 1970, there was only one Vaiphei village called Leilon but today the number has exponentially increased to 21 villages while Konsakhul, the only genuine indigenous village in the area remains as it was, the VA claimed.
This mushrooming of “illegal villages” were backed by its “militants groups in connivance with the district administration supported by the State politicians”.
Taking advantage of their numerical strength and demographic dominance, these “illegal immigrants” are indulging in “rampant destruction of environment and forests, recruitment and training, uncontrolled extortion and abduction of people, providing shelter and free entry and exit of illegal immigrants from across the border”. Besides generating revenues through poppy cultivation, logging business from the virgin forest of Liangmai, hunting, poisoning rivers with chemicals and encroaching on land, they have created land disputes and jungle raj carried out by the Kuki militants under Suspension of Operation SoO in Kangpokpi district, it claimed.
The State as a whole is facing a major problem of illegal immigration and sharing a 398 Km long border with Myanmar has enabled easy crossing of the border into the State. The people who themselves are the outlanders have brought in more people to increase their strength in social and political landscape, it said.
If the Government fails to curb the influx of illegal immigrants now, Manipur may become another Tripura where the indigenous people are minorities in their own State, it said.
Meanwhile, it had cautioned that any talks on the confrontation with the Government should include representatives of neighboring villages namely, Khurkhul, Sekmai, Senjam Chirang, Koutruk, Kanto, Chingmang, and Kanto Sabal village without fail.