Ceasefire pact : Means to an end : Understanding autonomy
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 14, 2013 -

The Ceasefire pact is a success. Former Chairperson of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group, Lt General Kulkarni cannot be faulted on making this observation, after all a Ceasefire pact holding out for over 15 years is not something that can be overlooked that easily.

The important question is whether the Ceasefire pact between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India is an end in itself or a means to an end.

The answer would obviously lie with the latter. More than 15 years since the truce pact was inked on August 1, 1997 and what has the Ceasefire pact got to show for itself ?

Save for the occasional hiccups as well as the tough stance adopted by either side now and then, the guns did go silent between cadres of the armed outfit and the security force but as things have shown, the absence of gun fire cannot be seen as the solution.

No wonder then that all eyes are trained on the 'final settlement' that is expected to come about soon.

From Sovereignty to Nagalim, to Supra State to now Pan Naga Development Council, the political negotiation between Delhi and the leadership of the IM group has certainly gone through different phases and in the process has led to many forecasts, most of which have fallen in the realm of conjectures and speculations.

What however has remained a constant in the political discourse spanning for over 15 years is the fact that Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur have their respective stakes in the peace parley.

And nowhere has this been more acutely felt than in Manipur, given its demographic composition as well as the topography of the land.

Competing interests on land and resources as well as on the idea of Manipur as a political and social entity should about sum up the situation here.

Autonomy as a term sounds politically correct and in line with the adage of peaceful co-existence.

However what sounds politically correct may not always be the most prudent and justified or stretch this a little more, justifiable.

Prudence would require that the understanding of autonomy, at whatever level, be seen and understood within the context of the topography and demographic composition of the land.

Would the model of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council be applicable in a place like Manipur where the hills constitute 90 pc of the land but over 70 pc of the population is concentrated in the valley area ?

It is important to keep in mind that the BTADC comprises just a fraction of the total area of the State of Assam. Likewise, the proposed Pan Naga Development Council would touch only a fraction of the total area of the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam while in Manipur it would mean affecting over 80 pc of its territory.

That such a sweeping understanding of autonomy will not work in a place like Manipur is an important point that should not blow over the head of Delhi.

Turn the argument around and one may well say that if at all the question of autonomy comes to Manipur, then it is the valley, which comprises just 10 pc of the total area of the State of Manipur, but where everyone is free to settle down, which deserves it more than anywhere else.

The important point is, for the Ceasefire pact to draw to a logical conclusion, the interests of all the stakeholders need to be taken into consideration.