NE infiltration a strategic project aimed at another partition, asserts RN Ravi

New Delhi, Aug 22
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi Thursday warned “large-scale” infiltration in India’s North East was not merely migration in search of livelihoods but a “strategic” project designed to engineer “another partition of India”.
Speaking at the opening session of Seema Vimarsh, a two-day international conference on cross-border infiltration held at Delhi University’s Vice-Regal Lodge, Ravi described the threat as beyond the reach of military force.
“The kind of infiltration taking place in Bengal, Assam, and other North Eastern States is not just people coming here for a better life and economic opportunities, but it is strategic for another partition… a work in progress. We have to worry about this because no army can stop this. This is about Bharat’s unity and integrity,” he said. Ravi argued the issue of illegal immigration persisted since Independence, in part because successive Govern- ments considered the region a distant frontier.
He went on to praise the RSS for its role in fostering inclusion in the region. “A group that has always worked in the North East for the betterment and to enhance inclusion is the RSS. I want to thank the workers of the RSS for doing such good work for years,” he said.
The conference, themed ‘Cross-Border Infiltration: Impact on Socio-Economic, Cultural, and Milieu’, was jointly held by Seema Jagran Manch, Delhi University’s Centre for Independence and Partition Studies, and Motilal Nehru College (Evening). The Indian Express
Our Staff Reporter adds from Imphal : Long before illegal immigration caught the attention of the people in the North East, particularly in Manipur, immigration from across the border has been vouched by different researchers and commentators.
In line with this, a certain Paolienlal Haokip had written in a submission to a publication of  the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies way back on May 23, 2002, that at least 20,000 Kukis had entered Manipur from Myanmar in 1967 during the Burmanisation programme of Ne Win in the neighbouring country.
A young Naga scholar had also detailed how the influx from across the border had led to the increase in the number of Kuki-Chin MLAs down the decades.
In the Electoral College of 1952-1957, out of the 30 MLAs in Manipur, there were 7 Naga MLAs, 1 Kuki MLA and 1 Paite MLA, wrote the young scholar.
In the Manipur Territorial Council of 1957 to 1962, out of 32 MLAs there were 4 Naga MLAs, 1 Paite MLA and 1 Thadou Kuki MLA.
Out of 10 tribal MLAs in the first Manipur Territorial Assembly (1962-1967),  there were 8 Naga MLAs, 1 Paite MLA and 1 Thadou Kuki MLA.
And out of the 60 MLAs in the first Manipur Legislative Assembly (1972-1973) 13 were Naga MLAs while only six represented the Kuki-Chin community.
The number of Kuki-Chin MLAs surged to 9 in the 1980 to 1985 Assembly while the number of Naga MLAs decreased to 10.
Apart from this the young scholar also pointed out that from 1969 to 2023, the number of Kuki villages in Kangpokpi increased from 179 to 721, which is a whooping increase of 303 percent.