Kuki chiefs decry amendment of Village Authority Act 2011
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, April 18 2011:
A strong message has been sent out by burning an effigy of the Chief Minister of Manipur in protest against the proposed agenda of the government to amend the structure of power of Kuki polity through Manipur (Village Authority in the Hill Areas) Amendment Act, 2011 .
A series of mobilization meetings have been underway for sometime in the Kuki areas of Manipur entitled "Awareness campaign on the proposed amendment, and its effects on the hill tribal lands".
The Kuki Chiefs' Association has been spearheading the movement in putting the issue in public domain.
A flagship program was recently held at Kangpokpi on April 13 .
The most recent of such meetings was today's which was organized by Sadar Hills Chiefs' Association (SAHILCA) in Saitu Gamphazol.
Not receiving any positive feedbacks from the government, the gathering of some 200 Kuki chiefs today resorted to sloganeering and effigy burning.
Some of the placards were emblazoned with hard hitting and strong worded sentences like "Congratulations, CM,.on being the first non-tribal Tribal Development minister", "To hell with Village Authority Amendment Act, 2011", "We oppose the proposed Manipur (Village Authority in Hill Areas) Amendment Act, 2011", etc.
The present movement is also directed against the Proposed Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Fourth Amendment) Act, 2011.The elections to district councils were recently done amidst "controversial" claims, mostly from the Nagas of Manipur.
President of SAHILCA, Tongpu Kipgen, said, "We want peaceful co-existence and harmony in Manipur.
We are not waging war against any one by organizing awareness programs.
Rather, we are laying in public domain the cause of the tribals of Manipur" .
R Sanga, a resource person, spoke at length on the effect of the proposed Village Authority Act, 2011.He said, "The sole purpose of seeking an amendment of Manipur Hill Village Authority Act, 1956, is to dominate and control the hills of Manipur," he said.
The 200 village chiefs took a draft resolution at the end of the programme that, "since the Village Authority Act, 1956, was not adopted by the tribals of Manipur, the recently proposed Act of 2011 will also be fought tooth and nail" .
An effigy of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the draft document of the proposed amendment Act of 2011 were consigned to flames as a symbol of intensification of protests against the Act.