Several Naga civil society organizations have jointly submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking urgent intervention over alleged attacks on Naga villages by Kuki militant groups operating in Manipur and along the India-Myanmar border.
The memorandum, submitted on May 9, was jointly signed by the United Naga Council (UNC), Naga Women’s Union (NWU) and the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM).
The organizations described the situation as a “proxy war” against the Nagas and alleged that it violates the spirit of the Indo-Naga Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) on August 3, 2015.
Seeking what they termed the Prime Minister’s “personal and urgent intervention”, the groups alleged that Kuki militant groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement and the Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) were carrying out attacks in Naga-inhabited areas.
The memorandum accused armed groups of engaging in “targeted killings, burning of ancestral villages, highway terrorism and systematic extortion”. It also claimed that the SoO arrangement had become a “licence for territorial expansion”.
The organizations further alleged that nearly 100 KNA(B) militants crossed into Indian territory on May 7 and attacked Namlee-Wanglee, Z Choro and Kaka villages in Kamjong district.
Two civilians reportedly sustained bullet injuries, while over a dozen houses were allegedly burnt down.
The Naga organizations alleged that the “state” had not only failed to protect the people, but that its “silence, appeasement, and partisan conduct of its forces” had emboldened the aggressors.
“When Naga homes are bombed, people kidnapped by foreign terrorists, and National Highways blocked, the national security stands broken and breached. This memorandum is, therefore, not a petition for favour. It is a demand for justice, a reminder of constitutional obligation, and an earnest call to honour the Framework Agreement before the frontier is seized by foreign intrusion,” the memorandum read.
Citing incidents in Ukhrul district, the memorandum said Sinakeithei village had faced repeated attacks since March and alleged security lapses by deployed forces. It also described the situation as a “foreign-backed invasion”.
The Naga bodies sought immediate action against KNA(B), PDF and SoO-linked groups, restoration of security along national highways including the Ukhrul-Imphal route, protection of Naga territorial integrity and a judicial inquiry into the attacks.
They also urged the Centre to expedite an “honourable and inclusive” Indo-Naga political settlement based on the Framework Agreement.
They further claimed that the Kukis had entered Manipur only in the 1840s during British colonial rule and were not indigenous to the hills. According to them, the current narrative of a ‘Kuki ancestral land’ is a post-facto fabrication, allegedly engineered to legitimise the occupation of Naga territory.
“For decades, the Nagas have stood as the sentinels of the eastern frontier, unarmed villagers guarding an international border. Today, these borders are penetrated by foreign elements. The threat to the Naga villages – the sentinels of the frontier – is a threat to the security of India too,” the memorandum read.
Copies of the memorandum, signed by UNC president Ng Lorho, NWU president Ch Priscilla Thiumai and ANSAM president Th Angteshang Maring, were also submitted to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
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