'Situation akin to monkeys chasing away house owners'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 04 2024: The present crisis is akin to 'monkeys chasing away house owners' while the chieftainship system abolished with presidential assent is still followed among a particular community in Manipur.

Chief Minister N Biren made this statement in the course of discussing a short duration motion moved by Congress MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar on the challenges faced by internally displaced persons due to the ongoing violence.

The Chief Minister stated that the State Government would look into what it can do with regard to the abolished chieftainship system which is still practised by a particular community in Manipur.

Biren stated that the chieftainship system was abolished with the President's assent in 1967 .

Chieftainship system has been abolished in Mizoram too but the Kuki people living in Manipur are still following the same system.

'Situation akin to monkeys chasing away house owners'

Under the chieftainship system, all the sons of Kuki chiefs must become chiefs.

As all the sons cannot be chiefs of a single village, the sons set up new villages and thus become village chiefs.

The system serves as a major factor for encroachment.

With many villages renamed, original names of these villages/places have been disappearing.

The Government has been working to check such practices by tabling a Bill in the State Assembly, Biren said.

He said that the Government has been considering additional aid to the people living in relief camps.

Some people were planning for the current crisis since many years back with the intention to break apart Manipur.

As a result of the crisis, Manipur has taken a new direction, he said.

"If we cannot protect Manipur from the current crisis, Manipur will disappear.

If we are able to protect Manipur, Manipuri Nation will survive for long", Biren said.

"It's not time for internal wranglings or divisive politics.

It's time to discuss the issue openly and take a concrete decision", he said.

Manipur is now surrounded by many elements who wish to break the State part.

They surrounded Manipur not yesterday but since many years back, he said.

Biren asserted that it's time to probe the current crisis and study what can be done to avoid such crises in the future.

"With the larger objective of creating a separate State, some people have been renaming villages and even districts.

We cannot overlook these manipulations", Biren said.

The Government has opened around 320 relief camps at different places and the Government has been working to enlarge rooms of prefabricated houses by removing partitions for the comfort of displaced persons.

Construction of prefabricated houses at Yaithibi Loukon which would have enough rooms to accommodate 200/300 families is nearing completion.

The houses are being modified by combining two rooms into a single room as the room is too small, he said.

The Government has been working hard to shift the displaced persons currently living in relief camps to partitioned rooms before May.

Saying that assessment of the destructions caused by the violence is nearing completion, the Chief Minister assured that the Government would extend all possible assistance to all the victims.

The situation has improved at some places that now the displaced families can go back to their original homes.

The Government has been working to provide financial assistance to around 300/400 people of Sugnu, Serou and Kumbi areas who would like to repair/rebuild their houses and go back to their original homes, Biren told the House.

Those people who cannot move back to their homes at present due to security reasons would be accommodated in prefabricated houses, he said.

The Government is also considering setting up a corpus fund to help meet medical expenses of IDPs living in relief camps for treatment of serious medical problems either in Government or private hospitals.

CMHT cards and Ayuhsman Bharat cards are being generated anew for them, he said.

In addition to uniforms and textbooks, the Government has started giving around Rs 3000 per month to each student living in relief camps and studying in private schools.

The Government has so far given Rs 1000 each to the IDPs living in relief camps three times.

Disbursement of another Rs 5000 each to the displaced families has also started through the Labour Department, Biren said.

In cases of death among the IDPs living in relief camps, the Government has started giving Rs 10,000 each to meet the funeral expenses.

Central leaders have apprised the United Nations on the nature of the attack witnessed in the course of the ongoing crisis.

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar told the United Nations Human Rights Commission on Sunday that the unrest in Myanmar has led to large scale influx, drug issues and turmoil in the North East region of India.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah too stated that illegal immigrants have their hand in the Manipur violence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too stated that drug money was used to purchase bombs and guns to unleash unwanted activities, Biren said.

He said that the current crisis has awakened the people of Manipur.

"We would have landed in greater trouble if we had woken up a little later", he said.

The Chief Minister said that IDPs who are skilful in carpentry works, masonry and other works would be requisitioned in development works taken up by the Government so that they can generate a source of income.

As per publications of 1962 and 1967, Kangpokpi was under Imphal West district.

Moreh is also not a hill area.

It was under a small town committee but five villages of Moreh were brought under ADC at one point of time by the then Additional Chief Secretary, Biren stated.

In 2012, areas covered by four Gram Panchayats under Kangpokpi AC were brought under ADC.

It was done by a Cabinet decision without consent of the Revenue Department.

This was rather unfortunate, Biren rued.

A reconciliation committee comprising HAC Chairman Dinganglung Gangmei as chairman and MLAs Ram Muivah, J Kumo Sha, Achab Uddin and Jamhenlung Panmei were sent on a peace mission on July 26, 2023 .

Thus the Government has been working to resolve the crisis, he said.

The Government has been working to identify illegal immigrants by adopting 1961 as the base year but the Government would never compromise on certain issues even if it is at the cost of peace, he asserted.

Moving the short duration motion, MLA Th Lokeshwar said that all the IDPs living in relief camps and prefabricated houses have been suffering extreme misery with all their properties either destroyed or looted.

He said that many of them are now suffering from depression.

Supporting the motion, K Ranjit said that many of the displaced persons have lost all hopes.

Ranjit decried that neither the Central Government nor the State Government has worked sincerely to resolve the crisis.

"As the chieftainship system followed by Kukis in Manipur has been abolished in Mizoram, let us adopt a resolution today itself to get rid of the chieftainship system in Manipur too", Ranjit suggested.

Mayanglambam Rameshwar said that the hereditary chieftainship system has led to multiplication of Kuki villages in the State.

From just 68 villages, the number of Kuki villages in Tengnoupal has risen to 258 in 2024, from 179 to 542 in Kangpokpi and 282 to 560 in Churachandpur, he pointed out.

As there is a provision that 20 households can set up a village, illegal immigrants and even criminals are being imported to set up new villages, he said while underscoring the urgent need to check this practice of setting up new villages.