“Manipur has been blockaded for 40 days now. Rice is being sold at Rs 80 per kg, petrol for Rs 200 per litre, a gas cylinder is going for Rs 1,000, no medicines are available, operation theatres in hospitals have no oxygen and schools are closed… the people’s plight is simply miserable…” This is the most shocking part of a list of laments conveyed to The Asian Age by Premanada Sharma, son of the late Madumangal Sharma, a BJP leader from Manipur, who was killed by terrorists some time in the 1990s.
Thuingaleng Muivah, Ato Kilonser (prime minister) of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland — now Nagalim (meaning Nagaland plus Naga- inhabited areas of neighbouring states) — came to Viswema village, Senapati district, Manipur, very close to its border with Nagaland, on May 5, 2010, as part of his plan to visit his hometown, Somdal, in Ukhrul district. The economic blockade of National Highways (NH) 39 and 53 by All-Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) on ANSAM and All Tribal Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) launched three months earlier to protest against the Manipur government’s proposal to hold autonomous district councils elections, was intensified since April 6, 2010.
On April 5, 2010, the Naga frontal organisations led by ANSAM denounced the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Third Amendment Act, 2008), which was reportedly passed in a closed door meeting and volunteers burnt its copies in the district headquarters of Chandel, Senapati, Ukhrul and Tamenglong. An Imphal-based news network quoted United Naga Council (UNC) chief Samson Remmei saying that the government of Manipur would be well advised to consider the wishes of the people by not imposing its move of conducting the autonomous district council elections under the present status.
Late in the evening on May 5, the four Naga organisations — the Naga Hoho, Naga Students Federation, Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights and Naga Mothers’ Association — issued an appeal letter to Muivah asking him to postpone his proposed visit for a few more days so as to “facilitate proper arrangement of the visit”.
On May 6, 2010, a day after Muivah’s arrival in Viswema, the tension building up at Mao Gate took an ugly turn, when the crowd attempting to take out a protest rally against the Manipur state cabinet decision to bar Muivah from visiting Manipur, began vandalising by setting fire to police vehicles and other goods kept at Mao Town Hall. At least two persons were killed and a number of others were injured when the Manipur police/India Reserve Battalion personnel fired teargas shells, “mock bombs” and live bullets to control the crowd. Seven Naga MLAs of Manipur resigned after this incident. Reverberations of the crisis were felt even in Delhi, where on May 7, about 300 Naga youth pelted stones at Manipur Bhavan and tried to storm it.
Union home secretary G.K. Pillai and the government of India-NSCN(I-M) interlocutor R.S. Pandey arrived in Imphal for peace talks between the government and the NSCN(I-M) on May 11 and had an over two-hour closed-door meeting with chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The next day, talks at Viswema between Mr Pillai, Mr Pandey and Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio with Muivah and other senior NSCN (I-M) leaders for diffusing this crisis failed, with the latter maintaining that Muivah will go ahead with his plan and Mr Pandey saying that it will not be possible till such time the situation improves. Mr Pandey informed the NSCN (I-M) about the decisions taken by the Manipur government on lifting of curfew at Mao gate, replacement of state police forces with central paramilitary forces and ex-gratia to the members of the families of two persons killed in the Mao gate police firing, to instill confidence among the people.
Interacting with the media later, Mr Pandey said the Centre would continue parleys with “all concerned” to break the impasse caused by the Manipur government’s objection to Muivah’s visit to Somdal village in Ukhrul district. “We have requested Muivah to wait till the situation becomes congenial in Manipur to undertake the visit because of security reasons… security remains the big issue… We will continue discussion with all concerned — the Nagaland government, the Manipur government and the civil society leaders — to make the situation congenial for breaking the stalemate,” Mr Pandey said.
While the Centre is reported to have informed the Manipur government about approving Muivah’s visit to Manipur, Pradip Phanjoubam, editor-owner of a popular English daily from Imphal, speaking to The Asian Age, felt that the Centre should have consulted and given more time to chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, whose contention is that Muivah should not come at the time of the district council elections scheduled after great effort since 2008, when the mentioned Third Ammendment Act was passed. Another view of some Manipur government leaders is why, after 40-odd years, Muivah wants to come now and if he had come after due consultation with the Manipur government, he may even have been welcomed officially.
Interacting with this newspaper after his return from Manipur and Nagaland, Mr Pandey said that this crisis will have to be resolved by a spirit of accommodation and statesmanship from both sides. He does not feel that the peace talks, resumed in March this year at Delhi, will be affected because despite New Delhi making it very clear time and again that borders between states cannot be touched on the issue of Nagas inhabiting other states, Muivah has had many more meetings with him and that till before this crisis he has maintained that “talks are progressing well despite difficulties”.
Meanwhile, till May 16, there was no let-up in the blockade news/progress on airlifting of necessities to Manipur by the Centre and the Churachandpur-Goite Road route being constructed by the Border Roads Organisation, is so far only jeepable.
This impasse, which began on the issue of Manipur’s autonomous district council’s elections scheduled for May 2010, during which Muivah decided to come, must be resolved peacefully. Manipur has already been reeling under deteriorating terror and corruption since 2004. A considered recommendation may be on these lines:
Muivah, whose official status of a banned violent organisation’s leader, has not been rescinded by Nagaland, but who, in the light of the March 2010 resumed peace process, wants to come to Manipur to meet his Tangkhul and other Naga tribes people, must get off his high horse and officially request the Manipur government to do so, with an assurance that he does not mean to spark any trouble and has no problems about visiting after the district council elections. Mr Ibobi on his part, must be magnanimous enough to not only allow him to visit, but provide him security too. Under no circumstances must Mr Ibobi and his Cabinet ministers give an impression that they are averse to Muivah’s entry into Manipur. After all, Manipur also had a Tangkhul chief minister, Rishang Keishing, who was removed in the late 1980s, after the NSCN (I-M) attacked the Assam Rifles company at Oinam village in Senapati district. While that is history, Manipur has too many Nagas to allow a Naga-Manipuri feud to crop up. Muivah should also think far more and ahead about the well-being and progress of the Naga people and not keep raising the boundary issue, which is too sensitive, particularly in Manipur.
At a time when Christianity, “introduced’ by the British, is completing a century in Manipur (land of jewels), where Lord Krishna has been worshipped for aeons, blessings from both are most welcome.
Anil Bhat, a retired Army officer, is a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi