IT News/Agency
Imphal, June 6:
Ten Naga MLAs accompanied by Outer Manipur MP Lorho Pfoze who is from the Naga People’s Front (NPF), is meeting the Union Home Minister Amit Shah today at New Delhi.
The Naga MLA contingent includes six from the NPF: Manipur Transport Minister Khashim Vashum, Leishio Keishing, Awangbow Newmai, Ram Muivah and Losii Dikho.
Two MLAs, S S Olish and Dinganglung Ganmei, belong to the ruling BJP led by N Biren Singh, while N Kayisii and Janhemlung Panmei are from the Conrad Sangma-led Nationalist People’s Party (NPP), also a BJP ally.
Naga intellectuals and social activists also converged in New Delhi with full preparation for meeting the union Home minister early today morning.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah could not meet the Manipuri Naga his visit in Manipur.
As of yet, there hasn’t been any violence in Manipur involving the Naga community. However, when Shah visited the state earlier this month, the community representatives requested a meeting with him.
According to the Naga MLAs, the central government’s solution should benefit the entire region rather than just one community. They said that a solution for only one group is “meaningless” since it will not address anything. “Currently, this (Manipur violence) doesn’t affect the Naga community, but we need to know how to cope with such a situation,” a delegation member told The Indian Express.
The Naga community is reportedly apprehensive about a potential settlement deal with the Kuki community, which the Centre hinted at. They claimed that an agreement will affect the Naga tribes directly as the land that the Kukis dominate and claim as theirs “historically belonged to the Nagas”. “A settlement that does not take this aspect into account would be difficult to accept,” they said.
According to reports, the Kuki-Zomi community has been advocating for a “separate administration” in the aftermath of the Manipur violence, which has so far killed around 98 people and displaced hundreds. A separate administration may enrage the Nagas because the two tribes have had a strained relationship since colonial times, and there have been ethnic clashes in the past over issues, including land claims.
The Centre is currently negotiating a peace treaty with the Kuki community to give it greater autonomy. The Kukis want the ten hill districts, which are dominated by Kuki-Zomi and Naga tribes, to be separated into two territorial councils. However, the Meitei and Naga communities are opposed to such a settlement because they fear it may result in the demarcation of administrative regions.
Kuki and Nagas have been feuding for decades. However, ethnic violence that culminated in the deaths of 115 Kukis by the Naga insurgent organization NSCN-IM in 1993 provoked new clashes between them. It was around this time that the Kuki-Zomi insurgency gained momentum. But in 2008, they signed a Suspension of Operation (SoO) deal with the Indian government, over a decade after the NSCN-IM.