From Sadar Hills to now Kangpokpi : Heeding the call of UNC
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 02, 2024 -

Back on December 8, 2016, the then Congress Government dropped a sort of a bombshell in announcing the creation of seven new districts, notably, Kangpokpi, repeat notably Kangpokpi district late in the night.

A small recap is in line here.

The Sangai Express had already put the day’s paper to bed and it was past midnight that information was received of the Government’s announcement.

Stop Press was the call issued and all printing activities were put on hold, just so that news of the creation of the new districts could be carried in the newspaper which would come out early in the morning to greet the readers.

The Sangai Express was one of the few newspapers in Imphal which managed to put the district creation news that day and as expected the United Naga Council, in fact that Naga folks, rose as one to come out strongly against the decision to grant district status to Kangpokpi, primarily on the ground that it amounted to gifting a district to the Kukis on the land of the Nagas.

An economic blockade followed and this was suspended only when the BJP led Government, in its first stint in office, came to power after the 2017 Assembly election.

Back then the BJP had gone to town crowing about how it managed to undo the crippling economic blockade and fast forward to 2023 and 2024, the same highway stretch is today off limits to the Meiteis while the BJP is in its second stint in office.

The grief of the UNC can be understood against the fact at least four Memorandum of Understanding were inked between the Naga people and the Government that Senapati district would not be bifurcated into two districts, in the shape of Kangpokpi.

The Government of India too had given its assurance that nothing that would bifurcate the land of the Nagas would be allowed.

It is on this line that the UNC cried ‘arbitrary creation of 7 new districts’ and went ahead to impose the unprecedented 139 days of blockade on the two National Highways connecting Manipur to the outside world in 2016 and early part of 2017.

Back then the general perception was that districts are created for administrative convenience and it makes no sense to identify districts along ethnic line but now taking the present reality into consideration, when the focus of the people is on the indigenous folks of the land, one can understand the stand of the UNC and the Naga people.

Now with the UNC re-raising the district creation issue, one wonders how the tripartite talks involving the UNC, the Government of India and the Government of Manipur would proceed, but before this the immediate task at hand would be to see how Delhi and Imphal respond to the 48 hours bandh call given by the UNC on the district creation issue.

Sadar Hills district was the name the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee had floated in its pursuit for district status and somehow Imphal managed to change it to the ‘more acceptable’ Kangpokpi when it was granted district status.

Eight years is a pretty long time, but the latest call of the UNC should more than testify that to the Nagas the issue is still alive and kicking.

Let’s resume the tripartite talks is the line one can read from the UNC and late into the evening of September 30, The Sangai Express did come across a copy of the communication from the Government of India to the State Government that Delhi is ready to resume the tripartite talks.

The missive was not given as a news item as there was no way to confirm its validity and given the manner in which fake news have been doing the round on the social media, it was felt that the missive should be given a miss.

For now it is a 48 hour bandh, but the stand of the Naga people and the UNC should be sincerely looked into and this is where the stand of Imphal would be interesting to see, especially in the backdrop of the fact that the call for a National Register of Citizens has been growing louder by the day.

As of now there is no indication that Delhi is willing to conduct an NRC here and hence the need to not give room to any inhabitants of doubtful origin should not be overlooked.

Over and above this, the various attempts being made to tamper with the history of the land should be presented to Delhi in clear cut terms.