Witoubou Newmai
The Manipur district creation issue prevails again after a long hiatus.
Two days ago, the United Naga Council (UNC) had demanded “immediate withdrawal and roll back” of the phrase-“Cabinet meeting at Kamjong on January 15, 2021"- from the Manipur Government’s cabinet record(s) at the earliest. The Naga body threatens that it “will take its own course of action if the Manipur Government fails to do so”.
It can be recalled that 7 districts were created on December 8, 2016, by the Manipur Government. The UNC said that the 7 districts were created “against the wishes of the Naga people by the then Congress regime” by ignoring numerous Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in letter and spirit. According to the UNC, the Government of Manipur and the Naga people had signed the 4 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on December 14, 1981, November 11, 1992, September 27, 1996 and June 23, 1998 and later on, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, “came in to intervene on November 24, 2011 that Naga people would be consulted in respect of new district creation”.
It can also be recalled that economic blockade was imposed for 139 days under the banner of the UNC in protest against the “7 new district creation” followed by several rounds of “tripartite talks” involving the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Manipur Government and the UNC. The last round of “tripartite talks” was scheduled for July 10, 2019, but it did not take place. Since then nothing was heard of the issue until two days ago when the issue was raised again by the UNC.
The closest explanation to the public the UNC had made on its position on the issue is-“The last round of tripartite talk was scheduled for July 10, 2019, but due to the request of the Government of India to the office of the UNC for further deferment and since then, the UNC has kept it in abeyance to avoid creation of problems and inconveniences to the public”.
Kamjong is one of the 7 districts created by the Ibobi Singh Government on December 8, 2016. The UNC’s point is that, since the issue remains “unsettled”, any act legitimizing the 7 districts should be opposed by the Naga people.
