ZB, ZYF oppose bifurcation of Naga areas
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, August 17 2011:
Zeliangrong Baudi (ZB) has said today that it will not allow "Nagas' land" to be bifurcated and warned the state government to desist from playing a divide-and-rule policy.
The ZB further asked the state government to respect the MoU signed with the Nagas and promote tribal unity.
We want peace and harmony between tribals and within Manipur; it added and sought support for the cause.
The SHDDC memorandum submitted to the president underscored the provision of Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Act in 1971 under the Constitution of India that mandated the creation of six autonomous district councils in the hill areas of Manipur � Senapati, Ukhrul, Chandel, Churachandpur, Tamenglong and Sadar Hills.
The five mandated districts have already been created except for Sadar Hills district which has been left out without allocating all the provisions as enshrined in the Act of Parliament no.26 of 1971, it said.
After the promulgation of the Act in 1971, "in 1974 the people living within Sadar Hills ADC administration formed a body christened Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee (SHDDC).
Since then, successive state government had been asked for complete implementation of the said Act in Sadar Hills," the memorandum stated.
While blaming the successive governors and chief ministers of Manipur for contemptuously sidelining the decision of the Parliament, it said that such decision has denied economic development in Sadar Hills for the past 39 years.
"In pursuance to our rightful demand for districthood of Sadar Hills, all democratice forms of agitations have been employed by the committee for the last 39 years.
Consequently, in 1982, the then government began to assure the committee for doing the needful.
Again, on March 7, 1997 then governor had assured the people on the floor of the state assembly that his government is committed for inauguration of Sadar Hills as a full fledged Autonomous district in Manipur" the memorandum said, and added that "several state cabinet resolutions have been passed.
The state cabinet in the year 2000 had also reaffirmed the cabinet resolution of 1982 for districthood of Sadar Hills but nothing has come to be materialized" .
Meanwhile, the Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF) in a press release emailed to Hueiyen Lanpao stated that the support rendered by some organisations and individuals regarding the demand raised by a single community for creation of Sadar Hills as a full fledged district without fully knowing the background and ground reality is only to incite communal disharmony amongst the hills people.
The State Govt.should not act upon such pressure which has the potential to disturb the peaceful atmosphere and in the event of any untoward incident occur those people should bear full responsibilities.