Solution has to be on table, not by guns: Ngursanglur
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Guwahati, Feb 7
Against the backdrop of a protest rally in Manipur’s Churachandpur on Friday, in which effigies of three Kuki-Zo MLAs were burned, one of the legislators has told The Indian Express that agreeing to join the Government “does not mean we have surren-dered” and there can be no peace without a Government in place.
Ngursanglur Sanate, a BJP MLA representing the Tipaimukh constituency, is a leader from the Hmar tribe, one of the many small tribes that are clubbed together in an umbrella as Zo, Kuki-Zomi, Kuki-Zo, Kuki-Zo-Hmar, and so on, which have been in conflict with the Meitei community in Manipur.
He is one of the three BJP MLAs from the community – along with Churachandpur MLA LM Khaute and Kangpokpi MLA and new Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen – who participated in the formation of a new Govern- ment in Manipur, led by Yumnam Khemchand Singh. Sanate and Khaute had accompanied Khem-chand to stake claim to form a Government and were present at the swearing-in of Ministers in Imphal on Wednesday, marking the first time that any of the 10 MLAs from the community went to Imphal to engage in Government processes since the ethnic conflict broke out in the State in May 2023.
Their participation was met with protests in Kang-pokpi and Churachandpur districts, with the Chura-chandpur-based Kuki-Zo Council declaring a social boycott against them and saying that participation in a “Meitei-dominated Government” is a “betrayal of their own people”.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Sanate said, “This decision was made in the interest of putting forward the peace process. People have suffered, and there are lots of people who still cannot go to their native villa- ges and houses. Some of them are staying in areas outside Manipur or camps and complexes provided by the Government. There are day-to-day labourers who are suffering. To earn a livelihood, there has to be peace. There has been a demand for a separate administration, but such things cannot happen at a moment’s notice. The SoO (Suspension of Operations) groups, UPF and KNO, are in political talks and negotiations with the Govern- ment of India for this, and that will continue. That is a gradual process, but we can’t wait for that; we need some peace and development, and for people to go back to their places.”
Insisting that agreeing to join the Government “does not mean we have surrendered”, he said, “The Naga talks have also been going on for decades, but if the Naga people say that till it is resolved, we will not have any form of Government, that can’t be the way. A Government has to be there to look after the people. In our system, bureaucrats are just executive figures. They only execute orders; they don’t have legislative power.
That lies with MLAs. The Assembly has to function. Otherwise, it won’t be a Government for the people and by the government. Our demand will continue, and it is being addressed by the SoO groups and the Government of India. Both these things can take place at the same time.”
On the charge that he and the other two MLAs have “betrayed the people and their sufferings,” he said, “If there is no Government, the suffering will continue. We are supporting the Government so that there can be a lasting solution and peace. We are not against the people. For any problem, the solution has to be arrived at at the table, not by guns, not by fighting and killing. And we have to be part of that table.”
He also sought to draw a distinction between the groups protesting and his constituents as an MLA.
“Those protesting are not from the Hmar community. I can’t speak for the other MLAs, but my decision has not been made by me alone. It has been made in consultation with my constituents, supporters and the leaders from my community.
And I believe my colleagues would have also done the same. For every such decision, there will always be some people who are happy, and some who will not be happy,” he stated.
The responses to this decision have, in fact, brought out internal differences within the larger community. The Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee, a civil organisation of Hmars from Pherzawl and Jiribam districts, issued a statement that Sanate is representative of their area, and warned against “any attempt to demean, intimidate, threaten or cause harm” to him. The Zomi Council, which rejects the clubbing together under the term Kuki and the Kuki Zo Council’s claim of broader representation, has also not supported the call for “social boycott”.
The Indian Express
Against the backdrop of a protest rally in Manipur’s Churachandpur on Friday, in which effigies of three Kuki-Zo MLAs were burned, one of the legislators has told The Indian Express that agreeing to join the Government “does not mean we have surren-dered” and there can be no peace without a Government in place.
Ngursanglur Sanate, a BJP MLA representing the Tipaimukh constituency, is a leader from the Hmar tribe, one of the many small tribes that are clubbed together in an umbrella as Zo, Kuki-Zomi, Kuki-Zo, Kuki-Zo-Hmar, and so on, which have been in conflict with the Meitei community in Manipur.
He is one of the three BJP MLAs from the community – along with Churachandpur MLA LM Khaute and Kangpokpi MLA and new Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen – who participated in the formation of a new Govern- ment in Manipur, led by Yumnam Khemchand Singh. Sanate and Khaute had accompanied Khem-chand to stake claim to form a Government and were present at the swearing-in of Ministers in Imphal on Wednesday, marking the first time that any of the 10 MLAs from the community went to Imphal to engage in Government processes since the ethnic conflict broke out in the State in May 2023.
Their participation was met with protests in Kang-pokpi and Churachandpur districts, with the Chura-chandpur-based Kuki-Zo Council declaring a social boycott against them and saying that participation in a “Meitei-dominated Government” is a “betrayal of their own people”.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Sanate said, “This decision was made in the interest of putting forward the peace process. People have suffered, and there are lots of people who still cannot go to their native villa- ges and houses. Some of them are staying in areas outside Manipur or camps and complexes provided by the Government. There are day-to-day labourers who are suffering. To earn a livelihood, there has to be peace. There has been a demand for a separate administration, but such things cannot happen at a moment’s notice. The SoO (Suspension of Operations) groups, UPF and KNO, are in political talks and negotiations with the Govern- ment of India for this, and that will continue. That is a gradual process, but we can’t wait for that; we need some peace and development, and for people to go back to their places.”
Insisting that agreeing to join the Government “does not mean we have surrendered”, he said, “The Naga talks have also been going on for decades, but if the Naga people say that till it is resolved, we will not have any form of Government, that can’t be the way. A Government has to be there to look after the people. In our system, bureaucrats are just executive figures. They only execute orders; they don’t have legislative power.
That lies with MLAs. The Assembly has to function. Otherwise, it won’t be a Government for the people and by the government. Our demand will continue, and it is being addressed by the SoO groups and the Government of India. Both these things can take place at the same time.”
On the charge that he and the other two MLAs have “betrayed the people and their sufferings,” he said, “If there is no Government, the suffering will continue. We are supporting the Government so that there can be a lasting solution and peace. We are not against the people. For any problem, the solution has to be arrived at at the table, not by guns, not by fighting and killing. And we have to be part of that table.”
He also sought to draw a distinction between the groups protesting and his constituents as an MLA.
“Those protesting are not from the Hmar community. I can’t speak for the other MLAs, but my decision has not been made by me alone. It has been made in consultation with my constituents, supporters and the leaders from my community.
And I believe my colleagues would have also done the same. For every such decision, there will always be some people who are happy, and some who will not be happy,” he stated.
The responses to this decision have, in fact, brought out internal differences within the larger community. The Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee, a civil organisation of Hmars from Pherzawl and Jiribam districts, issued a statement that Sanate is representative of their area, and warned against “any attempt to demean, intimidate, threaten or cause harm” to him. The Zomi Council, which rejects the clubbing together under the term Kuki and the Kuki Zo Council’s claim of broader representation, has also not supported the call for “social boycott”.
The Indian Express