KOHIMA, JANUARY 3 (MExN): The Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) accused the Nagaland state government of inaction on the recurrent boundary dispute between the Southern Angami and the Mao.
It held that the governmental inaction is evident in the “clarifications and rejections” and the consequent eruption of disputes, compelling the enforcement of restrictions on the movement of people, as a “democratic process” for restoring ancestral land.
While the Manipur state government has gone to the extent of establishing armed police outpost in the disputed area, “The Nagaland state government seemingly is yet to genuinely ponder on the issue in question,” the NTC said in a press release. It held that the perceived inaction has allowed the Manipur government “to exercise its one sided administrative authority,” while the state government is shifting responsibility to the NGOs.
According to the NTC, though the land dispute is between two Naga communities, the parties are from different states, by the nature of which it becomes an inter-state boundary issue and thereby, a constitutional and political issue. As such, it held that it needs to be addressed via Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution of India, with the Nagaland government taking it up with its Manipur counterpart through the arbitration of GoI (Government of India).
While stating that territorial boundaries are demarcated based on ancestral and traditional holdings, it said, “Although the aspiration of the Naga integration is respected at all times, the people of Nagaland cannot sacrifice any area of land that belonged to their communities ancestrally, traditionally and historically.”
“The NTC therefore urges upon the State government of Nagaland to no longer timidly take shelter behind NGO(s) but accord topmost importance of the land dispute issue in question, whole heartedly uphold the claims of SAPO in Kezoltsa and Dzükou areas and practically protect it from any form of encroachment from the neighbouring state,” it added.
It further said that if the Nagaland government cannot setup an armed police post in the disputed area like its counterpart, it must ensure the immediate withdrawal of the Manipur state government’s police outpost “so that one sided harassment is not committed to the innocent visitors in the areas.”
