UNC petitions HM on re-organisation committee
Reorganisation process should be based on geographical contiguity: UCM
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN

Imphal, September 14 2011: The UNC has taken its opposition to the Committee on Re-Organisation of Administrative and Police Boundaries (CRA & PB) to the Union home minister today.

In its representation submitted to Union home minister P Chidambaram the UNC said it was compelled to draw the latter's immediate attention to the government of Manipur notification on a public hearing on September 15 in the matter of reorganisation of administrative and police boundaries in the state of Manipur which has called for information, data and suggestions from interested parties.

In its missive to P Chidambaram, the UNC said, "Every Naga village and tribe have their own distinct territorial boundary and jurisdiction.

There has never been any confusion on the ancestral land of the Nagas be it among the Nagas, the neighbouring communities or the State Government.

The Nagas have all along been fighting against the arbitrary bifurcation and division of our land without our knowledge and consent.

The Nagas are not against the upgradation or creation of districts or blocks nor against the aspiration of other communities" .

The Naga body however stated that ownership over their own land must be recognised and respected and any attempt to further bifurcate their land on the ground of administrative convenience without consulting the traditional owners will be resisted tooth and nail.

"We would also indicate that we had drawn the attention of the Government of India in the matter vide our submission dated 18th August 2011 addressed to the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India and also the letter dated 26th August, 2011 addressed to your good office wherein reference was made to the four memorandum of understanding/agreements that were inked in 1981, 1992, 1996 and 1998 between the Nagas and the Government of Manipur on the issue of the demand for the creation of Sardar Hills district.

The 1998 Memorandum of Understanding agreed to honour the memorandum/agreements entered into in 1981, 1992 and 1996 and had enunciated that the resolution of conflict will be brought about through consensus of the peoples concerned in the interest of bringing about lasting peace and harmony between the Nagas and Kukis," the UNC memorandum to the Union home minister said.

"The haste with which the CRA & PB has called for a public hearing at Imphal on September 15, through a notification issued on the September 14 on such a sensitive issue is highly irresponsible and instead of evolving a consensus is by intent designed to create further disharmony among the communities in the state.

We would therefore like to make it very clear that the GoM will be solely held responsible for any untoward incident arising out of this issue," it added.

The UNC reminded in its missive to Chodambaram that with the severance of ties with the government of Manipur and the movement for an alternative arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur, the Manipur government has thrown in the spanner of upgradation and creation of new districts and have been pursuing it in a hasty and irresponsible manner cited above to distract from the democratic process of tripartite talk of the Government of India, Government of Manipur and the Nagas under the aegis of the United Naga Council.

It will be appreciated that the issue of reorganisation of administrative and police district in the state of Manipur is no more relevant for the Nagas as we have embarked upon the democratic process of dialogue for securing an alternative arrangement outside the Government of Manipur, the UNC memorandum stated.

"We therefore solicit your immediate intervention for directing the government of Manipur to desist from vitiating the already explosive situation obtaining in the present state of Manipur," it asserted.

Meanwhile, the United Committee Manipur demanded that the district boundaries should be appropriately surveyed and demarcated with the objective of keeping the geographical contiguity, with a specific aim to achieve administrative conveniences and not to be based upon the ethnic affinities, caste, creed, common language or religions.

While responding to the call of the committee to attend the public hearing which is to be held on September 15, UCM stated that it has nothing more to say rather than their stand which they submitted as a memorandum the Chief Minister of Manipur on August 28 .

At the same time, UCM in a press release stated that the Committee on re-organisation of Administrative and Police District Boundaries has perhaps violated the prescribed norms and general criteria for conducting such public hearing.

"The date scheduled for the public hearing should be postponed and rescheduled by giving appropriate time, venue and clear agenda thereof", UCM demanded.

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