Witoubou Newmai
The ongoing bonhomie between the Nagas in the south and the Manipur Government will depend on the manner in which the latter treats the various issues confronting the Nagas. The immediate issue at hand is about the district creation.
With the United Naga Council (UNC) reminding the Biren Singh Government that it “is all prepared to resort to strong forms of agitation again if the issue is not taken seriously by the Manipur Government,” the string of the warning bell has been pulled for the Biren Singh Government to address the issue in a “time-bound manner”.
The United Naga Council had also stated a few days ago that it was extremely serious with the issue and that “something concrete has to come out when we meet at the political level talks.” The UNC leaders had further stated that they were closely monitoring the trend, and that, “we will oppose anything that hurts the sentiment of the Naga people.”
The district creation issue carries the sentiments of the Nagas. The Biren Singh Government which is trying its best to maintain a good rapport with both the Kukis and the Nagas will not like to re-employ the successive Manipur Governments’ policy of the “please one, dump the other” approach which had often resulted in disastrous ramification. The district creation issue is part of the labyrinthine issues which germinated from the poor handling of situations by successive Manipur Governments.
If the Biren Singh Government wants peace, it cannot afford to ignore the chord that promotes the same in practicality. It also ought to learn a lesson or two from the mistakes committed by the Ibobi Singh Government where misleading rhetoric was used as a key policy.
One notable act the Biren Singh Government has done was the admission it made during the first ‘tripartite talks’ held on March 19, 2017 that, “the grievances of the United Naga Council which led to the imposition of the economic blockade by them was recognized as there was non-adherence to the four Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the Government of India’s assurance on the matter”. In fact, the Naga body found some charm in this admission from the Biren Singh Government.
Now that the UNC is asking the Government to address the issue in a time-bound manner, it is imperative for the Biren Singh Government to give maximum attention to the issue at the moment by utilizing its adequate resources as it goes without saying that in a situation of this nature any unattended loose end can trigger catastrophe.
Also, in addressing the situation, the Central Government should invest maximum efforts to resolve the issue instead of employing the usual smokescreen policies which have been the standard measures to soothe many such situations in Manipur.
The involving parties should keep in mind that absence of elements of honesty and skewed strategies in the past affairs were the reasons for today’s curse in the State of Manipur. So, an honest approach to deliver justice should be the primary purpose of the whole exercise.
