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Manipur under siege :: Hindustan Times
By Rahul Karmakar, Hindustan Times, Guwahati, May 23, 2010
The heart of Manipur is ‘dry land’. That possibly isn’t the reason why this Land of Gems is prone to being left high and dry. On the map, Manipur is like a set of concentric circles. The 238-acre, 400-year-old Kangla — it means ‘dry land’ in Meitei language — Fort forms the innermost ‘circle’. Around it stands state capital Imphal, encircled by the 1,843 sq km Imphal Valley dominated by the Meitei community. And this valley is surrounded by 20,504 sq km of hills inhabited by several Naga tribes, Kukis and their ethnic cousins......
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It is not the valley — it grows enough rice to sustain 60 per cent of Manipur in a year — that is suffering. The worst affected are areas that want to see Muivah’s homecoming become a reality. For the moment, they do not mind paying Rs 500 a kilo for sugar or Rs 110-150 for a litre of diesel so long as the standoff bleeds Manipur......
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But Manipur — CM Ibobi Singh to be precise — is in no mood to let Muivah in. For, in the visit it sniffs a design to reclaim Manipur’s hills for Greater Nagalim, the ultimate goal of the militant National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah). The hills that Manipuri kings had ruled out of Kangla Fort.
An old Meitei saying runs thus: Ching na mayambani, tam na manao ni; animak thadoknaba yaroi (Hill is elder brother, Valley is younger brother; the two cannot be separated). Is Manipur paying the price of a role reversal bid?
You can read the entire article here.
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