'Map shows Dzuko valley located within Manipur boundary'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 24 2015:
Dzuko valley is clearly shown located within the boundary of Manipur on the map of the erstwhile British-India Government, said Manipur State Archives Deputy Director Md Abul Kalam.
Talking to The Sangai Express, he said that Dzuko river is shown as the natural boundary of Manipur and Nagaland in the map of Assam of the erstwhile British-India Government.
The first edition of the map was published in 1942 after the British-India Government conducted a survey in 1922-1923, Md Abul Kalam said and added that the second edition was published in 1942 .
Dzuko river flows from Mt Tenipu (also known as Mt Iso located at Tadubi sub-division in Senapati district) towards Dzuko area and Dzuko valley is well located within the territory of Manipur according to this map, he said.
Dzuko river passes many hill areas of Manipur including Koziri before it merges with Barak river, he said.
However, people of Nagaland have encroached on a vast tract of land which falls under the boundary of Dzuko valley and Koziri areas.
Saying that this map must be referred by all stake holders including common people, Md Abul Kalam said that the truthful information provided by historical records must not be negated.
The map depicts Nagaland as Naga hill district, which was a part of Assam, he said and added that Manipur's territorial boundary is also clearly shown in the map.
Saying that among the North East States, Assam and Manipur have rich collection of archival records, Md Abul Kalam said that Manipur Government must acquire copies of the records regarding Manipur from the Assam State Archives.
He further informed that Manipur State Archives has the first electoral roll of Manipur published in 1948 .
In the first State Assembly election in 1948, Manipur had only 53 Assembly seats, he said.
Saying that many important Government documents and records are gathering dust in the State Secretariat, the Deputy Director said that these records must be properly preserved at the State Archives.
Although the records preserved at Manipur State Archives are all precious, no armed security is deputed to guard the building, he said.
Six unarmed home guards are currently manning all these treasured artifacts and historical records, he said.
Informing that Manipur State Archives is facing the problem of shortage of manpower, Abul Kalam said that it has only 21 staff including the Deputy Director.
He further said that all the important documents of all the DC offices must be preserved in the archives.
However, the State still does not have any archives office at the district level.