FoH for house debate on Kuki Hills state missive
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, August 04 2024:
Federation of Haomee (FoH) on Sunday submitted a memorandum to chief minister N Biren urging him for a discussion on the separate Kuki Hills state or UT demand raised by one Paominlen Haokip of Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas Manipur (Kuki Hills), in the ongoing session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.
Strongly opposing the appeal of separate Kuki Hills state and raising concerns about the historical and territorial claims made by Haokip in his representation to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), FoH pressed the CM to initiate debate on the same in the Assembly, send a clarification reply by the government, and process legal action against Paominlen Haokip.
The memorandum accused Paominlen of promoting "pretence citation" and distorting historical facts to justify the demand for a separate Kuki Hills state.
FoH also dismissed as baseless and historically inaccurate, Pao-minlen's claims regarding the scheduled boundary of Chasad Area, Mombi Hills, Jampi Areas, Haokip Reserved, Manlun Principality, Guite Principality, and Singson Principality of Kuki Hills along with asserting that the Kuki population only began settling in Manipur in the 1830s and 1840s, citing Sir James Johnston's book 'Manipur and Naga Hills' (1896, p 25) as evidence.
It argued that the Kukis were granted settlement rights by the Meetei king on the condition that they pay house tax, and contended that Kukis are not aboriginal inhabitants of Manipur.
The memorandum also criticised abolition of the Permit System (akin to the Inner Line Permit System) by then chief commissioner Himat Singh in 1950, which they claim led to unchecked influx of outsiders, particularly Kukis, into Manipur.
The memorandum also criticised Paominlen Haokip's references to Kom, Anal, Chiru, Koireng, Chothe, Purum, and Lamkang as part of the Kuki group while asserting that as these tribes are aboriginal to Manipur, having a history spanning over 3,000 years, they should not be classified as Kukis.
Emphasising that these tribes, along with others including Aimol, Paomai and Thangal are part of the Seven Yek Salai people, who predate any invasions and colonisation in the state, the memorandum further criticised Paominlen Haokip's mention of Manipur's territorial extent and the Merger Agreement, calling it an "insult" to the people and government of Manipur.
FoH also disputed Paominlen Haokip's claim that the terms "Kyang" and "Chin" are synonymous, pointing out that in Myanmar, Kukis are referred to as Chin, not Kyang.
The existence of Khongjai Hill south of Imphal, as mentioned by Paominlen Haokip, is also rejected as baseless by FoH.
Accusing Paominlen Haokip of misrepresenting village names of indigenous tribes as Kuki villages in an effort to substantiate his claims for Kuki Hills, the Federation affirmed that such attempts to disrupt the living arrangements of indigenous tribes are intolerable while cautioning that the demand for separate administration is a threat to Manipur's land and its people.
In their memorandum, FoH made three key demands: that the Manipur government place this issue on the agenda for the upcoming Assembly session, a formal clarification reply be sent to his appeal, and that Paominlen be punished under the law for what it described as his impractical and deceitful demands for a Kukiland territory.
FoH insisted that the government take stern action against such dangerous and illegitimate push for the creation of a separate Kuki state
in Manipur.
Comment
