Is Naga integration now going to be put in the backburner? It certainly looks like it; going by the post-poll political scenario in Manipur, where the United Naga Council backed Naga Peoples Front (NPF) could win just 4 of the 12 seats from where it contested the recent Manipur Assembly Election. All the 12 seats (constituencies) that the NPF contested from, they come under Naga inhabited areas and therefore many people would have been keenly interested to know how the NPF would perform given that Naga integration was the main agenda. This column had also stated that the Manipur Assembly election would be a crucial determining factor on the future of several political issues. We had also stated that the Manipur elections will be a referendum of sorts on the integration issue. Now that the election is over, its outcome and also the performance of the NPF will be keenly studied by all major stakeholders including by the Government of India given the fact that the issues raised by the Nagas in Manipur is intrinsically linked to the Indo-Naga peace process currently on. That the physical integration of Naga inhabited areas was always going to be difficult for New Delhi to concede was well known by most stakeholders including the Naga political groups and even the public. And this was also clearly discussed during the Naga Reconciliation meeting held on February 29, 2012. What the Manipur election result has done is to perhaps put an end, at least for now, to the integration issue so that the Naga people, particularly in Manipur, they can also take other realistic measures and focus on other political alternatives.
The other important lesson we can draw is for Nagas in Manipur to be united. The election results obviously tell us that Nagas of Manipur lacked a common approach. While this column was in support of the NPF’s entry into electoral politics in Manipur, the obvious drawback was that using the platform of the NPF (by the UNC) would have created more division with political allegiance swinging between the NPF and the Congress. The thing we must remember is that an institution like a political party goes beyond the ism of tribe, culture, religion etc. And especially a national party like the Congress in Manipur had representation from all communities including the Nagas so therefore to expect the Naga electorate to vote only for the NPF would have been wishful thinking. The question is whether the platform of a mass based organization like the UNC could have been a better option for Nagas to come together for electoral purpose. Just consider the fact that the NPF could win only four seats this time as compared to the UNC candidates winning six seats in the last Manipur Assembly election. In fact this time the NPF drew a blank in the Naga majority area of Tamenglong and even in the UNC stronghold of Ukhrul it could win just one of the three seats. So you see as opposed to a ‘common approach’ this time the votes were divided along political lines—Congress and NPF. The other hard lesson that should be learned is that as per past experience, being a Naga party or contesting under a common platform does not guarantee electoral success in Manipur. Perhaps this is because Nagas fail to work in unison. And this point is important because just look at the good performance of the NPF in the Mao areas (Senapati) where the Mao people as a community decided to fully support the NPF backed candidates. This was definitely lacking among the other Naga tribes of Manipur. All these are important lessons indeed.
