No invite for CM O Ibobi : The ghost of 2010
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 16 2016 -
It is a powerful political statement. Invite the Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Mizoram to the Luingaini festival and give the cold shrug to Chief Minister O Ibobi.
This is also in line with the resolution adopted during the 3rd Naga People’s Convention on July 1, 2010 held at Senapati.
Rewind to the summer of 2010 and the series of resolutions adopted during the 3rd Naga People’s Convention should be clear.
Prominent amongst the resolutions adopted was the decision to sever all ties with the Government of Manipur and the decision to give the cold shrug to Chief Minister O Ibobi is a reminder of the July 1 Naga People’s Convention of 2010.
The background under which the Senapati conclave was held may also help in understanding the deep divide between the State Government and the Naga frontier organisations of Manipur.
Just days before the July 1 Naga People’s Convention was held, the State Government had barred the entry of NSCN (IM) general secretary Th Muivah to Manipur.
Muivah’s intended destination was Somdal village in Ukhrul district, his birth place, but the State Government stood its ground and decided to ban his entry to the soil of Manipur.
This led to a series of confrontations which resulted in the death of two students in police firing on May 6, 2010.
Six years may be a long time and a lot of water must have flown during the last six years, but it is obvious that not all the Naga frontier organisations are ready to forgive and forget what happened on May 6, 2010.
The invitation to the Chief Ministers of the two neighbouring States and the manner in which Chief Minister O Ibobi has been left out is a grim reminder of the deep divide that has crept in between the Government of Manipur and the Naga frontier organisations.
What makes the matter all that more dicey is the Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) on August 3 last year.
Central to the differences is obviously the demand to integrate all Naga inhabited areas in the North East under one administrative umbrella.
While the votaries of a Greater Lim, including the Government of Nagaland, have been vocal in their demand to integrate all Naga inhabited areas under one administrative umbrella and those who stand by the idea of Manipur have also been strongly voicing the stand that any attempt to infringe upon the territorial integrity of the land will not be tolerated.
And the stand off continues.
The Lim divide is indeed deep and people on either side ought to start asking whether the situation is healthy for anyone.
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