Phamba Challadi Hippa Challi (Channaba Touee) : Targeting the hosts
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 08, 2025 -

Phamba Challadi Hippa Challi (Channaba Touee) or something along this line, a rough translation of which will come close to the understanding of ‘Give them an inch and they will demand a mile’ and this is the line that has been maintained by the Senapati based Naga People’s Organisation (NPO), Senapati District Students’ Association (SDSA) and Senapati District Women’s Association (SDWA) in dubbing the Kuki attackers as refugees.

The people at the receiving end of the aggression of the Kukis are the Maram people at Kazanga village and the Liangmai people of Konsakhul Naga village.

The aggression at Konsakhul village has been roughly documented in the Imphal based newspapers while in the case of Kazanga it has only come to light that some houses have been burnt as well as destroyed.

Land dispute is the reason cited for the attack at Konsakhul and while the authority concerned must get their act together and see what should be done, it stands that no one has the right to attack anyone and this is where the physical harm inflicted on the chief and chairman of Konsakhul village cannot be accepted at all.

The land dispute between the Liangmai people and Kukis in the areas adjoining Konsakhul goes back a few years but the current standoff dates back to January this year when a Naga woman from Konsakhul was assaulted by Kuki people who come under the nomenclature village volunteers over a land dispute.

And as things stand right now as in April 2025, the dispute continues with more than 10 Liangmai people being left injured with two of them needing hospitalisation.

The Sangai Express has deemed it fit to comment on this, for if the ‘refugee’ term used by NPO and the other Senapati based organisations is anything to go by then its reverberation is something that can be felt all around.

It is with a reason why the demand to update the National Register of Citizens has been growing with each passing day.

A point agreed to by both the Meiteis and the Nagas.

The point of agreement however seems to end here, for while the Meiteis have welcomed the decision of the Centre to fence the Indo-Myanmar border as well as do away or put riders in the Free Movement Regime, the same has been protested strongly by the Naga people.

The Nagas have a point in raising their objection to the decision to fence the border, but yet at the same time they cannot remain blind to the massive and gradual human incursion from across the border, so much so that the number of representatives the Nagas get to send to the Assembly has seen a downward trend down the years.

A point which has already been detailed brilliantly by a young Naga researcher Dirinamai Liangchi in the Ukhrul Times as well as in The Sangai Express.

It also stands that the first group of people who stand to be adversely impacted by unchecked immigration from across the border are the Nagas. A point which should be studied deeply and digested accordingly.

What Konsakhul is facing today is the result of unchecked immigration and the ‘large heartedness’ of their forefathers in giving some space to the later arrivals from across the border and it is with a reason why The Sangai Express had spoken out here against the move to name a locality at Mantripukhri as Vaiphei Colony some time back, in fact much before the present Meitei-Kuki clash erupted on May 3, 2023.

The question is how the matter will be resolved. Does the Government have any intention to step in and see what may be done or is it a case best left to the people themselves to decide ?

If the latter is the case then perhaps Naga organisations like the United Naga Council and the Liangmai Naga Council may step in and see what may be done. Senapati based organisations have already had their say and so too the Zeliangrong United Committee, Manipur.

What is happening at Konsakhul cannot be brushed aside as a stand off between two villages for it says something profound about the utmost need of all the people who are indigenous to the land to be wary of ‘guests’ who may overstay his or her welcome.

The case of Thangjing being turned into Thangting and the case of district status being granted to Kangpokpi on grounds of administrative convenience are spirits which may continue to haunt Manipur for years to come.

This is where one can say that the ongoing parleys between the UNC, State Govt and the Centre on the district status being handed to Kangpokpi continues to be of immense interest.