Restore Moreh to pre-1991 state : MCM to PM
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 05 2024:
The Meetei Council Moreh (MCM) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking restoration of the multicultural town of Moreh to the pre 1991 status.
In a memorandum signed by its general secretary L Brojendro Meetei, MCM said that Kuki families should also not be allowed to settle at Moreh if the Government couldn't rehabilitate the people driven out of Moreh by the Kuki militants since 1991 .
Drawing the attention of the Prime Minister, the Council said that the historical composition of Moreh included the Meiteis, Tangkhuls, Tamils, Punjabis and Meitei Pangals.
Claiming that the influx of Kukis occurred only later, with a significant portion being deemed illegal immigrants from Burma (Myanmar), the MCM alleged that the 'ethnic cleansing' of various communities from Moreh by the Kuki militants and their supporters happened in the post 1991 period.
The Council maintained that all individuals compelled to leave Moreh should be resettled and rehabilitated in their rightful place-Moreh.
Saying that the the stand of the Council is well supported by historical records regarding the origin of Moreh Town situated just 1 km from Tamu in Myanmar, the Council said that the 15th-century demarcation agreement between Pong King Khekhomba and Kyamba led to the establishment of Kaba Valley within Manipur territory.
In 1834, the British leased Kaba Valley to Burma, compensating the King of Manipur until the State's integration into India.
Subsequently, Moreh became an officially sanctioned border post, as documented in the 1888 Gazetteer of Manipur, the Council claimed.
Saying that the road from Pallel to Moreh was constructed during the Second World War by local overseers and labourers under the supervision of the British, the Council added that the Inspection Bungalow was constructed under PWD after the road project was completed.
It claimed that the Inspection Bunglow was the first official building for Government officials and there were no other permanent structures except for some Meiteis from Kakching and neighbouring areas who had come there looking for war scraps from the Second World War.
Meiteis were among the first settlers of the border outpost of Moreh while Tamu being a commercial place was frequented by the Meitei, and Awa as well as Chinese traders, the Council claimed.
After independence, the first Chief Minister of Manipur Maharaja Priyobrata Singh visited Tamu and advised to shift the commercial place to Moreh as Tamu was no longer under the jurisdiction of Manipur, it added.
Moreh was originally the land of Meiteis and Nagas (Tangkhul, Maring, Lamkang and Moyon) along with a few Kukis (Baites and Zous), the MCM said an added that amongst tribes under Kuki nomenclature, Solim Baite and his family came to settle in Moreh after 1950 .
Meitei Pangals also settled in Moreh at the same time as Meities.
Tamils and Punjabis also came to settle in the Moreh town when General Ne Win seized power in Burma in 1962 and ordered all non-Burmese, including people of Indian origin who had been staying there for decades, to leave the country, the Council claimed.
Saying that for a long time Meiteis constituted the majority of the population at Moreh with Tamils coming next, the MCM said that the population of Moreh Town was 108 only in 1951 and it increased to 690 in 1961, 3581 in 1971, and 7,678 in 1981 .
Out of the nine Wards of Moreh Town, Meiteis settled as majority in five Wards of 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9, MCM further said and continued that the five localities of the Meiteis are Heinoumakhong Leikai, Turel Wangma Leikai, Khunou Leikai, Bazar Leikai and Premnagar Leikai.
There were only Zou Leikai and Baite Leikai then from the Kuk-Zo group.
Nagas lived alongside the Meiteis, the Council said.
Maintaining that Moreh was a microcosm of India before 1992 and a multicultural trading town with a mixed population of Meiteis, Nagas, Kukis, Tamils, Meitei Pangals (Muslims), Marwaris, Gurkhas, Punjabis, Bengalis, Biharis, etc, the Council said that Tamil festival Pongal and Meitei festival Lai Haraoba were more popular than Christmas in the town.
"In May 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi registered a landslide victory in Myanmar.
However, the military junta refused to recognize it, and there was a large-scale mass protest; the military junta cracked down on the protestors, and thousands of Kuki tribes migrated illegally to Manipur and settled in Moreh.
Chavangphai and Kanan Veng were formed by then.
The Myanmar-based insurgent group KNO/KNA came along and started operating in Moreh with active support from some powerful Kuki politicians," it claimed .
Reminding that an ethnic clash broke out between Naga and Kuki in 1992 in Moreh, and it immediately spread to other hill districts, the MCM claimed that Kukis killed many Nagas and burned down their houses in Moreh.
Most Nagas were forced to flee Moreh, the MCM said.
After the Tribal Solidarity Rally on May 3 2023, the Kuki militants and their supporters brutally attacked the Meiteis, Tamils, Punjabis, Meitei Pangals, Biharis and Nepalis by burning down their homes, and drove them out of Moreh, the MCM continued while urging the intervention of Prime Minister to restore the multicultural town of Moreh to the pre-1991 status.
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