The stand against delimitation False premise unacceptable
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The bottomline in the stand against any move to go in for delimitation on the basis of faulty or erroneous headcount should be understood and appreciated. It is not against delimitation perse but anything based on something false and artificial can only lead to more chaos in the already turmoiled State. This is primarily the reason why many have come forward to lay down the necessity of a National Register of Citizens before any delimitation move is initiated. Population invasion, this is what Manipur is standing against and it is primarily to check this unchecked, unregulated movement of people from across the border, that the move of New Delhi to fence the porous Indo-Myanmar border has been welcomed with open arms by the Meiteis though it has been opposed tooth and nail by the Nagas and the Kukis. The reasons are however different. The Nagas are not known to have migrated enmasse and set up new settlements to give a boost to their population strength. Rather it has been one of interaction and keeping the filial ties between kindred tribes alive and kicking, while in the case of the Kuki-Zos it has been more of throwing open the doors to let the illegal immigrants come in and set up new settlements. A point which was brought to the floor of the Assembly by none other than a Naga MLA from Phungyar Assembly Constituency Leishiyo Keishing when he pointed out that refugees from across the border have started outnumbering the local people and how it has drained the resources of the villages at Phungyar and the other settlements near the border. Again it was not without reason why a young Naga researcher and a writer to boot had taken it upon himself to write an illuminating article sometime back in The Ukhrul Times and which was also carried by The Sangai Express. It was in February this year that a young writer and researcher by the name of Dirinamai Liangchi elaborated that out of 30 MLAs in Manipur in 1952-57, there were 7 Naga MLAs, 1 Kuki MLA and 1 Paite MLA. Then in the Manipur Territorial Council of 1957 to 1962, out of 10 tribal MLAs, there were 8 Naga MLAs, 1 Paite MLA and 1 Thadou Kuki MLA. The same trend followed more less in the first Manipur Legislative Assembly (1972-1973) wherein out of the 60 MLAs, 13 were Naga MLAs, while only 6 represented the Kuki-Chin community. Then in the second Manipur Legislative Assembly (1974-1979), the Kuki-Chin MLAs, including one Kom increased to 8. The number of Kuki-Chin MLAs then surged to 9 in the Manipur Legislative Assembly of 1980 to 1985 while the number of Naga MLAs declined to 10. The same trend has followed and now the number of Naga MLAs and number of Kuki-Chin MLAs stand at 10 each. The increase in the number of Kuki-Chin MLAs can be directly correlated to the increase of Kuki villages from 179 in 1969 to 721 villages in 2023 at Kangpokpi alone, which means a jump of 303 percent !
The statistics can be rolled out by picking up any place in the hill districts, such as Tengnoupal and Chandel. One long, hard look at the increasing trend of Kuki-Chin population and settlements say that the first casualty has been the Naga people and it is against this trend that the call to check illegal immigration has been raised. And it is against this reality that opposition has been raised against any delimitation moves based on wrong and erroneous census. While the Nagas and the Meiteis seem to be on the same page, in so far as the conduct of NRC is concerned, it is not the same when it comes to border fencing and the decision to do away with the Free Movement Regime. This is perhaps where the Government of Manipur may rise to the need of the time and see what may be done in areas that come in Naga dominated districts, while there should be no compromise on the drive to keep out all illegal immigrants. Having said this, it should be kept in mind that any delimitation move should be based on legal and authentic headcount and illegal immigrants cannot and should not be counted as genuine citizens of the land. This is precisely the reason why the call for NRC first then delimitation has been raised and those championing the call for NRC first must prepare the case that may be presented to the relevant authority of the Government of India in a manner that is both fitting as well as convincing.
The statistics can be rolled out by picking up any place in the hill districts, such as Tengnoupal and Chandel. One long, hard look at the increasing trend of Kuki-Chin population and settlements say that the first casualty has been the Naga people and it is against this trend that the call to check illegal immigration has been raised. And it is against this reality that opposition has been raised against any delimitation moves based on wrong and erroneous census. While the Nagas and the Meiteis seem to be on the same page, in so far as the conduct of NRC is concerned, it is not the same when it comes to border fencing and the decision to do away with the Free Movement Regime. This is perhaps where the Government of Manipur may rise to the need of the time and see what may be done in areas that come in Naga dominated districts, while there should be no compromise on the drive to keep out all illegal immigrants. Having said this, it should be kept in mind that any delimitation move should be based on legal and authentic headcount and illegal immigrants cannot and should not be counted as genuine citizens of the land. This is precisely the reason why the call for NRC first then delimitation has been raised and those championing the call for NRC first must prepare the case that may be presented to the relevant authority of the Government of India in a manner that is both fitting as well as convincing.