Nagas : First to bear the brunt Call to weed out illegals
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The first to bear the brunt of human incursion from across the border is obviously the Naga community and the decision of the United Naga Council to toe the ‘NRC first, then census’ call is in line with what is actually happening at the ground. Now with the two indigenous groups of people, the Meiteis and the Nagas, toeing the same line, a powerful message has been conveyed. Whether the Centre takes the united call of the indigenes or not is a different matter, but what needs to be said has been laid down in clear cut terms. Incursion from across the border is real, very real for in due course of time, the ‘refugees’ or illegal immigrants raise the banner of indigeneity and lay ancestral claim on any stretch of land they manage to live on. The examples are galore. From the manner in which Mt Thangjing was found changed to Mt Thangting, to the strong voice of opposition raised by the Foothills Naga Co-ordination Committee, to the stand of the Liangmai community which has been crying foul over the manner in which their land have been encroached upon, the ‘ownership’ claim laid on Mt Koubru, the recent stand off and clash at Litan in Ukhrul district, are all examples of the impact of illegal incursion from across the border. Oral stories narrated by Tangkhul elders talked about the wandering group of people who used to come to their villages to ask for food provisions and in the process demonstrate their martial prowess, told a story of its own and the significance of such stories have become all that more given the emerging scenario in Manipur. However the focus of the Government of India is on geo-politics and in the type of politics that is being played out, a clear cut message has been rung out and that is, the fate of the indigenous people can be played around. It is against this nasty reality that the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (CJFD) has been organising a series of meetings across the State to mobilise the people to fall in line with the call that illegals should be weeded out first before the head count. The UNC too has raised an important voice and its representation to Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand to first weed out the illegals is significant. Now is perhaps the time for the two groups of indigenous people to join hands and chart out a way to strike a common posture. As stated here, it is the Nagas who are first affected by the unchecked immigration from across the border. As a young Naga researcher pointed out not so long back, the number of Kuki-Chin-Zo MLAs has increased down the years at the cost of the Naga people. Today it will be a tough call for the Naga people to send a representative from Tengnoupal AC to the Assembly and even Chandel is no longer a safe bastion for any Naga candidate. The mushrooming of numerous human settlements along the Imphal-Dimapur line, before reaching Senapati district headquarters should give one an idea of the point that is sought to be made here. Likewise look at the settlement in and around Litan on the Imphal-Ukhrul road stretch.
Refugees, this was the term in vogue before the term illegal immigrants gained traction with even a certain Paolienlal Haokip captioning an article, ‘Suffering in oblivion : Burmese refugees in the Northeastern Region of India’ which was submitted to the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, back on May 23, 2002. The Burmese refugees referred to here included the Kukis, as pointed out by the writer, a Haokip himself, who went on to elaborate that during the Burmanisation programme of Ne Win in 1967, 20,000 Kukis made their way to Manipur. This was nearly 60 years back and no one knows how many of the Kukis who entered Manipur went back to Myanmar. Then during the democratic uprising in Myanmar in 1988 a large number too entered Manipur and again no one knows how many actually went back and how many melded with the local population. The writer also explained how many of the refugees took up drug smuggling to make easy money and to this day Manipur talks about the narco terrorists. The stand of the indigenous people is plain and simple. Weed out the illegal immigrants and then proceed with the census operation or else the danger of including the illegal immigrants in the list of bonafide citizens of the land is clear. Whether the demand is heeded or not is a different matter, but an important point has been delivered.
Refugees, this was the term in vogue before the term illegal immigrants gained traction with even a certain Paolienlal Haokip captioning an article, ‘Suffering in oblivion : Burmese refugees in the Northeastern Region of India’ which was submitted to the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, back on May 23, 2002. The Burmese refugees referred to here included the Kukis, as pointed out by the writer, a Haokip himself, who went on to elaborate that during the Burmanisation programme of Ne Win in 1967, 20,000 Kukis made their way to Manipur. This was nearly 60 years back and no one knows how many of the Kukis who entered Manipur went back to Myanmar. Then during the democratic uprising in Myanmar in 1988 a large number too entered Manipur and again no one knows how many actually went back and how many melded with the local population. The writer also explained how many of the refugees took up drug smuggling to make easy money and to this day Manipur talks about the narco terrorists. The stand of the indigenous people is plain and simple. Weed out the illegal immigrants and then proceed with the census operation or else the danger of including the illegal immigrants in the list of bonafide citizens of the land is clear. Whether the demand is heeded or not is a different matter, but an important point has been delivered.