Politics of land and ownership : Quit Kukiland announcement
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 23, 2013 -

Zalengam The Kuki State :: Pix - TSE

Quit notice. There is something ominous about this term.

Way back in the early 90s the quit notices served on the Kukis by the United Naga Council are today seen as the precursor of the ethnic clash that saw hundreds, if not thousands killed, and thousands displaced.

Closely linked to any quit notice is the concept of a homeland, a piece of territory solely recognised with a particular ethnic group.

Not exactly a full circle for it has not been served on any community, but the announcement delivered by the Kuki State Demand Committee that 'Indian authorities' should withdraw from Kukiland from January 24 cannot be seen in isolation of the concept of land identified with a particular group of people.

Territory and ethnicity. Both inseparable, but take this a notch or two above the understanding of the salient features of land ownership, then it can take dangerous turns.

This is all that more so when there are conflicting claims over land and territory and Manipur does not need to turn back the pages of history to understand this, for this is a phenomenon which is presently being played out on her political turf.

Clearly the politics of land and its ownership can take different twists and turns.

Not surprising then that the 'Quit Kukiland' announcement has been made on the demand for the start of a political negotiation between the Government of India and the signatories of the Suspension of Operations agreement around the premise of a Kuki State.

The proposed map of Kuki State or Zalengam should leave no one in doubt about where the potentially conflicting claims over land and territory will arise.

As noted in this column on more than one occasion, the timing of the demand for a Kuki State and the public blockade that Manipur witnessed in connection with this demand some time back is significant.

It also rhymes well with the voice raised that the plight of the Kukis should first be addressed to before the Government of India inks any final settlement with the NSCN (IM).

Quit notification. Blockade, never mind the suffix or prefix to it. Manipur has seen it all and experienced it all in the past.

All blockades, all quit notices have always been in line with ethnic specific demands.

The public blockade, which is supposed to come into force from the evening of January 24, is no different.

How seriously the State Government and Delhi will take the announcement of the Kuki State Demand Committee remains to be seen but one point that can be said with a degree of certainty is that it will have an impact on the already worsening ethnic divide that has come to define the Manipur of today.

It should also be clear that while land and people will remain inseparable, playing the politics of territory and ethnicity to pursue a demand based solely on ethnic lines can lead to uncomfortable situations for all concerned.

The need to draw a line here should not be buried under the 'compulsive need' to draw a map or maps.