Centre's free movement plan under cloud
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: March 14, 2025 -

REGARDLESS of Union home minister Amit Shah asking security authorities to ensure free movement of people and goods along the two national highways in Manipur sector, the on-going indefinite shutdown called by Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) underscores that materialisation of the objective for disturbance-free conveyance shall either entail ruthless crackdown against the disruptive elements or engaging the shutdown enforcing organisations in talks.

In the past too, many a hill-based organisations had laid siege on the national highways to air grievances of the people on varied issues and force the government to cede to their demand.

In such a scenario, successive governments entrusted ministerial teams to engage in parleys with the aggrieved parties and had fair success in impressing the agitators to end the road siege with the assurance that the grievances aired would be addressed.

However, in some cases the same mode of agitation centring on choking the supply lines to the state's capital resumed as the government failed to keep its words, thereby necessitating fresh round of dialogue.

Notably, on few occasions, the agitations were called off or suspended for some time following intense pressure from the general population, launch of counter-blockade led to scarcity of essential commodities and disruption caused to livelihood chores, to name a few.

That the commoners are bearing the brunt of the agitation could be comprehended from reports about the indefinite shutdown relaxed for a few hours in Churachandpur town to enable the people to replenish stock of essentials and tend to pending tasks.

It needs no reminding that it is the non-salaried section of the society who suffers the most when livelihood activities are disrupted.

For the record, normal life remains particularly affected in the Kuki-Zo areas for four consecutive days as of Wednesday due to the indefinite shutdown called by the KZC after clashes broke out between security forces and protesters after the latter attacked vehicles of the state's transport bus service and central forces in Kuki-populated areas under Kangpokpi district on March 8.

Security forces might have contained further outbreak of violence in the affected areas but the situation is far from being normal as is evident from social media posts showing groups of youngsters and womenfolk belonging to the Kuki community enforcing the shutdown, halting and checking ambulance vehicle and even denying passage to police vehicle.

Unlike the past many agitations centring on highlighting shortcomings in education and healthcare sectors, sluggish project works, etc., the demand being raised by the KZC is infeasible for the government authorities.

As the on-going agitation is primarily in pursuance of the demand for separate administration; which the centre had rejected multiple times, finding solution to the problem would definitely entail extensive dialogue process, if any, and general consensus as the faintest hint about the government entertaining the demand has the potential to trigger mass movement from different quarters.

While Meetei civil organisations have made it clear that there should be no compromise on the state's territorial integrity, it is unlikely that non-Meetei population, too, would heartily welcome creation of a Kuki homeland, which is the ultimate objective of the Kuki-Zo community being pursued under the pretext of separate administration or union territory with legislature.