While Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren is optimistic of restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Paolienlal Haokip demands that three Union Territories be constituted in Manipur, which is contradictory to what the Coordinating Committee on Manipuri Identity (COCOMI) and other civil society organisations (CSOs) firmly stand for the protection of the territorial integrity and unity of Manipur. The COCOMI and other CSOs have strongly voiced their opposition to any moves to “break up” the State on ethnic lines.
After meeting Union Ministers in the national capital New Delhi during his trip to attend the meetings for NITI Ayok and BJP Chief Ministers’ Council in the last week of July, Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren seems embolden and optimistic about restoring peace and normalcy in the State though the news about meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not yet clear.
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren on July 26 met three Union Ministers to discuss different demands, including expediting the construction of highways in the State, and stated that the Union Defence Minister is working tirelessly to restore normalcy in Manipur.
He met three different Union Ministers including Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Chief Minister Biren posted on his Facebook page a photograph with a caption, “It was a pleasure meeting the Hon’ble Defence Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh Ji, at Parliament House today. We had an in-depth discussion about the situation in Manipur. Shri Rajnath Ji is working tirelessly to restore normalcy throughout the state. I also requested Shri Rajnath Singh Ji to expedite the handover of the Koirengei Air Field land to the State Government.”
Moreover, Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren on August 1 said the State Government is working towards peace talks and has held several meetings in Assam’s Silchar. “We are making immense efforts towards peace talks with the assistance of MLAs and other members. Meetings have been held in Silchar, and we will soon make an announcement,” CM Biren told the Assembly without elaborating who are involved in the meetings.
Then, it turned out to be about restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur’s Jiribam district that Meitei, Hmar Communities agree to restore peace there.
Representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities have reached an agreement on August 1 to make concerted efforts to restore normalcy in the Jiribam district, which has become the centre of violence since June 6 this year. The agreement was reached at a meeting held at a CRPF facility in Cachar, Assam, on August 1. The meeting, moderated by the Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles, and CRPF personnel, also included representatives from the Thadou, Paite, and Mizo communities of Jiribam district.
The joint statement issued after the meeting confirmed that both sides have committed to making full efforts to bring normalcy and prevent incidents of arson and firing. Both parties have pledged to cooperate fully with the security forces operating in the area and facilitate controlled and coordinated movement. The next meeting is scheduled for August 15.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip has said that there will be no resolution to the current crisis in Manipur until dividing the state into three Union Territories.
When asked if 10 Kuki MLAs will take part the Manipur Legislative Assembly session summoned from July 31, Paolienlal Haokip told NE Live in an interview telecasted on July 31, 2024 that none of the Kuki MLAs would take part in the Assembly Session.
He said that one Kuki MLA was beaten badly almost to death and none of the Kuki MLAs could attend the Assembly Session in the prevailing situation. He also said that it is not safe for Kuki MLAs to visit Imphal at present.
Regarding his views on the present situation and resolving the crisis, the BJP MLA and one of the leading Kuki MLAs who demand Separate Administration for the Kuki-Zomis in Manipur since May 12, 2023, said he has been repeatedly voicing for division of Manipur into three Union Territories for the Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas.
The region being strategic neighbouring Myanmar, the Government of India (GOI) and others could establish good relations with its neighbouring countries when such a situation arrives, Paolienlal asserted in the interview.
When asked if he would resign if his demand is not met, Paolienlal Haokip said that he has to find an alternative if the Government of India fails to address the crisis.
Notably, as Paolienlal, himself, said that he has been repeatedly voicing for division of Manipur into three Union Territories, he said the same last year in an interview with a news agency on July 30 last year.
Kuki leader and BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip, who shot into the limelight after the violent ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zomi militants and Meiteis, erupted in Manipur’s Churachndpur district and its adjoinining areas of Bishnupur district on May 3 last year, said the way forward to finding a solution to the State’s racial conflict is by creating three separate Union territories.
Paolienlal Haokip in an interview to PTI advocated giving “political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation” in the State, upping the ante from earlier vaguely explained demands for a Separate Administration for Kuki areas made by fellow Kuki community leaders.
“The way forward, as I see it, is for the Union government to give political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation, where the state of Manipur is reorganised as three Union territories,” Haokip told PTI. He argued that such a move will “best ensure lasting peace, and also pave the way for each community to pursue excellence”.
Paolienlal Haokip, who won the election from Saikot constituency in Churachandpur district of Manipur earlier this year on a BJP ticket, said on July 30, 2023, “The resumption of talks by the central government with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups on a bilateral platform is a positive development, given that the State Government has been playing spoiler with its majoritarian and arrogant attitude.”
Noteworthily, the demand for a Separate Ddministration in the wake of the violent conflict that erupted on May 3, 2023 in Manipur’s Churachandpur district and its adjoining areas of Bishnupur district turned out to be not a new one – conceived already.
According to a report published on May 22, 2023 by The Indian Express in the third week of the violent conflict said the demand officially resurfaced with 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs in Manipur submitting a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Now, the SOO groups are poised to begin talks with the Centre once again, but with a changed position.
Before the violent conflict broke out between the Kuki-Zomi tribes and the Meiteis in Manipur, peace talks between the 24 Kuki-Zomi militant groups, under SOO, were headed toward a conclusion, the report said.
Further, the report said the Kuki-Zomi militant groups after having agreed to a political settlement within the state of Manipur now digging their heels in and demanding a Separate Administration.
The report quoted a government source as saying: “Still we are hopeful of reaching a deal with the Kukis. They have been more accommodating of Centre’s vision for Manipur compared to Nagas. Thankfully, the words used by agitating Kuki leaders are still ‘separate administration’ and not ‘separate state’. We are sure once peace is established in Manipur and Kukis begin to feel more secure, they will come around to accepting the solution. It may take some time now, but it will happen.”
Notably, a formula for political settlement with the Kuki-Zomi militant groups had been worked out by the end of April this year (2023). The peace talks had settled upon the module of providing ‘territorial councils’ to the tribes of Manipur, the report said.
The Kuki-Zomi groups had asked that the 10 hill districts, dominated by Kuki-Zomi and Naga tribes – be divided into two territorial councils – one for the Nagas and the other for the Kuki-Zomi groups. Nongthombam Biren-led government had proposed that there be 10 territorial councils – one for every district. The Centre had proposed a division of 2-2-1 (two each for Kuki-Zomi tribes and Naga tribes and one for the Meiteis), a proposition that was backed by the Zomi militant groups.
However, the report quoted a KNO leader as saying: “But that is no longer what we are seeking. It is not possible for us to live with the Meiteis any longer, so we want a separate administration.’’
Taking into consideration of the developments, what Paolienlal Haokip demands to divide Manipur into three Union Territories is in line with the formulation of three Territorial Councils (TCs) reportedly agreed between the Kuki militants under SOO agreement and the Government of India before the violent conflict that erupted on May 3, 2023.
Senior Editor: Imphal Review of Arts and Politics
