ZORO slams UNC's remarks on burial of Dr Nehginpao
Source: Chronicle News Service
Kangpokpi, May 11 2021:
Zo-Reunification Organization (ZORO), General Headquarters, Aizawl Mizoram slammed United Naga Council (UNC) over its statement on burial of Prof Dr Nehginpao Kipgen at Leikot village in Kangpokpi district on May 5 after he succumbed to the COVID-19 second wave at New Delhi.
Lalruatliana Fanai, general secretary ZORO, said that the UNC's statement is a bizarre scene of 'shake hands with the right hand and stab with the left' as it expressed condolences over the untimely demise of Prof Dr Nehginpao Kipgen and in the same breath raised objection to his burial at Leikot village in Kangpokpi District, Manipur.
It is extremely callous display of prejudice and the ZORO is deeply disappointed over the communal indiscretion of the UNC, especially as a neighbour of the Zo people - Kuki, Chin and Mizo - and more importantly, as a Christian community, he said, adding that compassion and hate mixed at the expense of a fellow Christian brother's death, to say the least, is most distasteful.
"The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani was born in Rangoon, Myanmar just as Prof Dr Nehginpao Kipgen was.
Is the UNC driven by hatred of our people that it failed to see reason and should it be the UNC that should take caution to think and look before it leaps," asked Fanai.
He also said that for the benefit of the UNC, ZORO would like to take the opportunity to shed light on the resolution adopted by the General Assembly (107 Plenary meeting, 13 September 2007), 6/295 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 36 which stated that indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by international borders, have the right to maintain and develop contacts, relations and cooperation, including activities for spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social purposes, with their own members as well as other peoples across borders.
He continued, "Both the Naga peoples and Zo, who exist in present-day India and Myanmar people are victims of colonialists' divide.
They both have expressed desire for cultural unification or political unification of their respective people" .
On UNC's objection to Prof Kipgen's burial in India and the question of whether he (Prof Dr Nehginpao Kipgen) had acquired Indian citizenship or not, Fanai asked the UNC, "Should his citizenship be an issue, would the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi not have taken it up while he was alive? .
He also wondered whether the UNC, which works in tandem with group/groups and is most vocal about the rights of the Indigenous people at the United Nations, is unaware of the UN Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 36 .
The Zo-Reunification Organization, GHQs urged the United Naga Council to exercise proper discretion in future and show Christian values over the death not only of the Kukis, but also any member of the human race.
While mourning and conveying its condolences and sadness over the untimely demise of Dr Nehginpao, who headed the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at OP Jindal Global University, Haryana, ZORO stated that the void left by him will be hard to fill.