Mokokchung, 21 August (MTNews): The United Naga Council (UNC) through a press release said that the relentless efforts to quell the simmering ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities seem to be caught in a web of “blatant lies, lop-sided history, and fabricated information.” Despite earnest attempts to foster dialogue, the situation remains tense and unresolved.
In a time when dialogue and understanding should be paramount, the Nagas find themselves at odds with the Kuki-Zo community, questioning the veracity of every statement and memorandum issued. According to the UNC, these actions not only distort the Naga history but also amount to an “insult to the Naga people.”
At the heart of the issue lies a complex web of territorial disputes and historical controversies. The Nagas vehemently oppose the creation of new districts in 2016, formed by bifurcating erstwhile Senapati and Chandel districts. The UNC said they view this as a “handiwork of the Congress government’s appeasement policy carried out in the name of administrative convenience.”
“Hence the demand for separate administration which incorporates the so-called new two districts is necessarily opposed. The Nagas’ stand on the opposition remains unchanged,” stated the UNC.
The UNC also said that the bifurcation of the two districts is an issue virtually with the Kukis only and not with Zo peoples. Therefore, the UNC said that the Kuki-Zo people’s representation to the Union Government, Israeli’s Prime Minister, European Parliament, UNO, etc. is on “false territorial foundation and an attempt to befool those authorities.”
The UNC argued that in the context of Manipur, the name Kuki was first heard sometime between 1830-1840 and, therefore, ‘Kuki hills’ that appear in the fourth para of the mentioned memo to the Prime Minister of Israel is “non-existent and utopian concoction.”
Attacking the area of ‘Outer Manipur’ for the creation of Kuki State as mentioned in the memorandum, the UNC asked, “Do the Kukis speak with sense?” and added that such wild ventures will lead the Kukis to nowhere today and in future.
“It is a sheer attempt to script bad history for unending enmity between us. As for an instance, it is an act of befooling them if the establishment of new villages in Kuki areas within Naga districts is stated to be for their displaced people of 1990s conflict being kept the fact of illegal immigrants hidden before those authorities,” the UNC stated.
The statement delved into the historical context of the conflict, tracing the Kuki tribe’s introduction by the British colonial rulers as mercenaries. This historical legacy, according to the Nagas, sowed the seeds for the present-day tensions and conflicts.
“As a mercenary Tribe the British found the Kukis quite useful. Their total lack of attachment to any land and landscape was immediately recognized by the British, thus making them instrumental to crushing the indigenous communities of Manipur. That, UNC would like to set the record straight that the recent blatant attempt of Kukis at distorting history of Kuki rebellion of 1917 -1919 as Anglo-Kuki War to legitimize their imagined Kuki homeland within Naga ancestral homeland is one of the classic examples of their habitual lies,” the UNC said.
“It may be recalled that the Kuki Rebellion 1917-1919 was a savage episode of murdering, torching houses, plundering and enslaving women and children of indigenous Naga community in Ukhrul, Chandel and Tamenglong in Manipur. Thus, it was never a war but a mere rebellion with the colonial power as there is no record of Anglo-Kuki War in the history of India (MHA),” stated the UNC.
The UNC also further raised concerns of illegal immigration from neighboring Myanmar and Bangladesh stating that in all the districts, there has been increasing and expansion of villages and creation of new villages rampantly and at the rapid pace.
“Columns of illegal camps are being built at an alarming rate near the town of Moreh and its surrounding areas to facilitate the settlement of those intruding Kukis from Myanmar. If the flow of illegal immigrants is not stopped by the Government of India and the Government of Manipur, the day will not be long when the Indigenous population will be reduced to a minority,” it stated.
The Kuki-Zo community’s recent demands for the creation of the post of Chief Secretary and Director General of Police or equivalents have not found favor with the Nagas. The UNC viewed this move as “nothing but a mere different tune sung out of the same lyrics, the demand for separate administration.”
“In this regard too, the Nagas are not with the Kukis as it involves the problems raised above. Moreover, it is completely uncanny and unfortunate on the part of the Kuki-Zo peoples to have clubbed Chandel district along with the so called Tengnoupal district together with Churachandpur district as their land,” stated the UNC.
The UNC cited the ancient stone megaliths and menhirs in Churachandpur as evidence of the precedence of Naga tribes (especially the Zeliagrongs) in the area over the present inhabitants and the Anals and Lamkangs in Pherzawl areas.
The UNC also said that prior to the submission of the memorandum, nine names of Naga tribes of Chandel district were incorporated in the Kuki Constitution as Kuki tribes. The Nagas urged the Kukis to show the basis of the inclusion.
“The Nagas will not remain mute over the issue. Having said all of this, the Nagas believe that nothing in this regard is too late to set the wrong right,” it added.
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