Alarm bell: Manipur violence may 'spill over' in Mizoram as well

Alarm bell: Manipur violence may 'spill over' in Mizoram as well

New Delhi 

Things are getting murkier by the day.

The whirlpool of conflict and misgovernance always leaves common people affected.

If thousands of Kukis and Zo community people had to flee Manipur for security reasons, a large number of Meiteis in Mizoram also have "flown back home" to their home state. A serious alarm bell has been raised by a Mizoram ministerial delegation
led by Mizoram Tourism Minister Robert Romawia Royte. On the other hand,
a Meitei youth body in Silchar region of Assam has urged Mizoram's ruling party MNF to stay away from the demand for 'bifurcation' of the Manipur state.

Challenge mounting for PM 

The Mizoram government team held a meeting with Union Home Secretary Bhalla on Friday and cautioned that if the spree of violence is not brought to a halt in neigbouring Manipur, there could be a 'spill over'in Mizoram as well.

“Unless the violence in Manipur against our kindred brothers is stopped, the violence may spillover in Mizoram," the Mizoram official delegation has reportedly cautioned the centre.

 

On the other hand, there was a "confirmation"  that an estimated 100 Meitei people had been evacuated by flights from Aizawl to Imphal on May 7th in the 'return flights' from Imphal which evacuated around the same number of Kukis and other tribal people.

Sources also said a number of Meiteis -- belonging to Hindus, Muslims and Christians "might have left" Mizoram for Silchar/Cachar region in neighboring Assam by road. However, hundreds of Meiteis are still continuing to stay in Mizoram.

A sizable number of Meitei community people are residing in Mizoram capital Aizawl and other hubs such as Lunglei as motor mechanics and tailors. Some of them also engage in petty trades, eyewitness accounts say.

It may be mentioned that Kukis and Meiteis clashed in another northeastern state Meghalaya capital Shillong in the first week of May when the conflict had just started in Manipur. The Mizoram delegation reportedly told Bhalla that though majority of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs)have relatives and friends in Mizoram, none of the "Meiteis living in the state have been threatened, not to talk about harming them".

The Mizoram delegation comprising Tourism Minister Royte, state home secretary H. Lalengmawia and OSD (Home) David Lalthangliana urged the Union Home Secretary for early allocation of central funds for humanitarian assistance to over 11,000 Manipur IDPs. Chief Minister Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga had earlier appealed to the centre to provide Rs 10 crore assistance.

Zoramthanga also spoke to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during last fortnight.

If Kukis are often described as nomadic tribe having traversed a lot and having base in several parts of the region, Meiteis or 'Manipuris' as generally called are also in various other states across northeast.

In related developments, sources said, representatives of the Meitei community in Mizoram under the aegis of All Mizoram Manipuri Association (AMMA) met Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati at the Raj Bhavan in Aizawl on Wednesday, June 15. 

The leaders of the Meitei Community in Mizoram expressed their "sincere gratitude" to the Young Mizo Association (YMA), students' leaders, and the civil societies for understanding and being supportive of their community in Mizoram. The delegation in their memorandum submitted to Governor felt that it is high time President Ms Droupadi Murmu should intervene to ensure peace and tranquility in Manipur. 

In another incident which showed ethnic differences, Assam-based All Assam Manipuri Youths Association (AAMYA) in Cachar district (Silchar region) threatened to launch ‘some serious moves’ if the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) led by Chief Minister Zoramthanga does not 'withdraw its support' to the demand for a 'separate administration' in Manipur for the Kuki-Zo community.

The AAMYA may "launch some serious moves" very soon that will make the whole of Mizoram to study its topography seriously "like never before", sources said. 

“If Mizoram turns a deaf ear to this appeal, Meitei-Kuki fight will go on. Obviously, sooner or later Kukis will succumb as Meiteis are more superior in the battlefield once organized for the war. But there will be heavy casualties on both sides,” the AAMYA statement said.

In turn, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) has advised the Silchar-based All Assam Manipuri Youth’s Association (AAMYA) to read/study Indian Constitution that allows making demands for separate and new states. “The MNF, even when our present Chief Minister Zoramthanga was studying in DM College in Imphal, had already strived for unification of contagious areas of Mizoram, inhabited by Zo-ethnic community, into a single administration,” a senior MNF functionary said.

The MNF has pointed out that unification of all the Mizo/Zo ethnic communities into a single administrative unit also featured in the peace talks between the central government and the erstwhile 'underground MNF' under Laldenga in the 1980s.

Even the Mizo Accord says that -- “The question of Unification of Mizo inhabited areas of other States to form one administrative unit was raised by the MNF delegation. It was pointed out to them, on behalf of the Government of India, that Article 3 of the Constitution of India describes the procedure in this regard but that the Government cannot make any commitment in this respect.” 

The MNF leaders say a number of 'new states' like Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telengana have been carved out from states in accordance with the Article 3 of the Constitution.

The Kukis and Zo community in Manipur have demanded 'separate administration' in hilly areas of Manipur. But the move though endorsed by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga-led MNF, the Nagas of Manipur have sought to keep themselves isolated from such demands.

On the other hand, the stance of Nagas in Manipur to stick to 'united and status quo of Manipur' state has triggered a debate on Naga unity in neighbouring Nagaland.

Representatives including village chiefs and authorities of 13 Tangkhul Naga and 6 Meitei villages met at Chandrakhong, a converging point of Kamjong, Kangpokpi and Thoubal districts of Manipur on June 10 and decided to work for safeguard of Meitei and Tangkhul Naga villages and even demand NRC.

A few days earlier, as many as 10 Naga legislators from Manipur have dissociated themselves from the demand of a 'separate administration' for tribals by the Kukis and other smaller Zo communities.

They had said that "Naga areas should not be touched" if at all any such arrangement is made.

Criticising the move of the Nagas of Manipur, a retired IAS officer in Nagaland, Khekiye K Sema wrote an article stating, "To add salt to the wound, it appears that our Tangkhul brothers have finally shown their true character by openly joining hands with the Meiteis in a time like this… vowing to jointly safeguard Manipur’s territorial integrity".

"We the Nagas have been trying to go forward on a back gear and perhaps we are soon about to reach the station called: “Solution? What Solution?”," says the retired civil servant questioning the very rationale of ongoing Naga peace talks.

Ends 

(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of the books 'The Talking Guns: North East India',  and 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth'. Views expressed are personal)