Explaining the Siege: The Unending Blockades in Manipur


By Bibhu Prasad Routray 21 September 2011 : The ongoing blockades in Manipur entered 52… more »


By Bibhu Prasad Routray

21 September 2011 : The ongoing blockades in Manipur entered 52 days on 21 September. Even by the prevailing norms in the state where blockades are imposed with religious regularity by almost anybody- militant formations, civil society organisations, student outfits, tribal bodies – this time around the siege has gone wee bit too far, with no end in sight.

As people in the state struggle to meet their ends with scarce commodities, this is an attempt to explain the issue at hand and examine the options for the governments in Imphal and New Delhi to put an end the current logjam.

Issue at hand:

Upgradation of the Sadar Hills sub-division of the Senapati district to a full-fledged district.

The issue is at least two decades old. Incidentally, the Manipur State Legislative Assembly has twice passed resolutions supporting the creation of the Sadar Hills district. Creation of this new district is not an easy proposition for the area under the Sadar Hills, and largely dominated by the Kuki tribe, is seen by the Nagas as part of their traditional homeland. Both Nagas and Kukis have fought bitter internecine clashes through out the 1990s resulting in deaths of hundreds.

The biggest stumbling block before the issue, thus, has been “one posed by ethnic contestations over territory informed by archaic notions of ethnic homelands”. The issue also highlights the division between the Hill and the Valley areas of the state. Geographically, 90 per cent of the State area is hilly and contains 41 per cent of the population. The rest 59 per cent of the state’s total population, are located in the Valley, housing the state’s capital.

The Key Players:

1. Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC): Consisting of Kuki tribals, the SHDDC since 31 July 2011 has blocked NH 39, which connects Imphal with Dimapur (in Nagaland). It also has blocked NH 53 that connects Imphal with Assam.

2. United Naga Council (UNC): In anticipation that the SHDDC agitators may have their way, this apex political organization of the Naga tribes within Manipur on 21 August imposed its own blockade along all the other highways (NH 39& NH 150) leading out of the state, thus effectively cutting off the state from the rest of the country. UNC opposes the creation of the district on the fear that the creation of the district would split the Naga population and would further put their ultimate goal of being a part of a unified Nagalim that brings together all the Naga inhabited areas of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh under one administrative unit in jeopardy. The UNC further insinuates that the demand for Sadar Hills district is part of a sinister divide and rule policy by the Government of Manipur, indirectly hinting at a machination by the valley based Meitei communities who they feel are against the Nagas.

3. Manipur Government: Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has promised the SHDDC that a final decision on creation of the Sadar Hills district would be made after the Committee on Reorganization of Administrative and Police Boundaries (CRAPB) submits its report in three months. The first meeting of the state chief secretary-headed Committee on Reorganization of Administrative and Police Boundaries (CRAPB) was convened on 15 September to seek people’s comments and opinion on remapping of district boundaries. Meanwhile, several civil bodies have appealed to the government not to rearrange the boundaries on the basis of religion, language or communities.

4. New Delhi: It has resisted intervening as the issue remains an internal political problem in Manipur and has remained free from ethnic violence. Any intervention would be seen as a bias in favour of or against particular tribes. Thus, it believes that this situation is better handled by the State government. In any event, Manipur police is 20,000 strong, and has 10,000 police commandos at its disposal. In any event, the convoys of trucks are being provided security by the Manipur Rifles personnel and Indian Reserve Battalions (IRB) battalions along with central forces, the BSF, CRPF and Assam Rifles, although full safety of the vehicles has not been ensured. Six trucks including two carrying medicines were burnt down by the UNC protesters at Nungkao area under district along NH 39 on 16 September.

Options before the State Government:

1. Force open the Highways: This would appear to be the easiest of solutions. However, all the Highways passing through the state obviously can’t be kept open by security force presence all round the year. The state would require at least 20 dedicated battalions of security forces for the purpose. Neither the state nor New Delhi can afford this. The other option is to concentrate only on Highway 53 that connects Manipur with Assam and is less troublesome to keep operational. However, this Highway is simply unusable in its vast stretches. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which is the repairing agency, has set a deadline of 2013 to complete its work.

2. Create Sadar Hills district: It will placate the Kukis, who would then lift the blockade on NH 39 and 53. However, the decision would annoy the Nagas who would continue the blockade on rest of the highways. The decision will certainly have a spillover effect in Nagaland, where the Nagas would eventually impose fresh blockades on NH 39, which passes through Nagaland. It has happened so many times in future and will recur. The Manipur state government, which now can still get its supplies through convoys of trucks under police and security force protection into the valley areas, will be completely at the mercy of the Nagaland government. New Delhi can intervene in that inter-state conflict scenario, but the danger is that the conflict may also take dangerous turn towards vicious inter-tribal violence between the Nagas and Kukis in Manipur, a worst case scenario New Delhi would try to avoid.

3. Do nothing till the storm passes over: This is a policy the Ibobi Singh government has been frequently accused of. Blockades demanding creation of the Sadar Hills district is almost an annual ritual, for past several years. On previous occasions, protesters have gone home after deliberations and assurances by the state government. Only this time, this has gone on for so long. Since there have been multiple resolutions in the Assembly favouring the creation of the district, the government can’t now reject it. But an Ostrich like policy will keep the issue alive, allowing it to return in possibly worse forms.

4. Get the Nagas and Kukis to talk to each other: On paper, it may sound fine, but is a highly improbable scenario, given the acrimony both communities bear towards each other and also, the hostility they have towards the state government.

5. Create the district, but under different names: As a respected editor friend of mine Pradip Phanjoubam suggests: “The state government could experiment with things like naming the proposed Sadar Hills district as Senapati (South) and the old Senapati as Senapati (North). The point is to send out the message to those demanding as well as opposing the formation of this new district that the new district has no other intent than administrative convenience.”

6. Do nothing till a humanitarian crisis forces the New Delhi to impose President’s rule: Presuming nothing improves, the closing act of the state government may be a transition to the President’s Rule to avoid a humanitarian crisis. As Pradip Phanjoubam opined, “This is not so much about punishing the government for allowing the situation to go out of hand leaving the state with the distinct possibility of completely descending into total chaos, but instead of finding a way out of the present dangerous problem.” This unfortunately looks to be the only way out of the present impasse

This article was sent to Kanglaonline by Bibhu Prasad Routray
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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/explaining-the-siege-the-unending-blockades-in-manipur/

UNC Opposes Re-Organisation of Administrative and Police Boundaries

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Read the full article and articles like this at…


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Read the full article and articles like this at manipurhub.com

Read more / Original news source: http://manipurhub.com/news-manipur/unc-opposes-re-organisation-of-administrative-and-police-boundaries/

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NUNG ANIGI MARAKTA SADAR HILLS

By Araba Meitei Politicking on the creation of Sadar Hills, a proposal initiated even before the present legislative members could spell the word “POLITICS”, is wrong. The delay is only… Read more »

By Araba Meitei

Politicking on the creation of Sadar Hills, a proposal initiated even before the present legislative members could spell the word “POLITICS”, is wrong. The delay is only helping the formation of dark clouds looming over the issue from Senapati where the CM was given a foreigner and a land grabber’s welcome. It is unfortunate that the successive clandestine MoUs between the Government of Manipur and Naga NGOs initiated, signed and re-endorsed by Rishang Keishing and whose footsteps W. Nipamacha Singh, a Meitei Chief Minister, toed is tumbling out of the closet much to the amazement of the SHDDC. The government’s intentional disregards only accentuate the suspicion that like his predecessors the CM might have compromise the integrity of Manipur for Naga integration. To make things straight, one may recall the source from where the CM gained political strength to oppose Th. Muivah. Had the present government formation been the same as that of Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh, the government would have crumbled or the CM would have gone to Mao gate to welcome Muivah with garland made of Lotus buds plucked from Loktak Lake.

The delay in the formation of the district aggravates the issue further and by now a stroke of communal colour is painted by the Naga NGOs. All the possible consequences are now laid bare for all to witness. The calculated move to ignite fresh ethnic conflict between the hill tribes is not likely to surface this time round. With the agenda of land annexation in the name of urbanization still fresh in the minds of the hill brethrens, the conflict of interest is likely to result in communal re-alignment among the hill tribes. The re-alignment or unification of the hill brethrens is going to be the sure nemesis of Manipur.

In the politics of Manipur, the Kukis are like ping-pong balls between the Nagas and the Meiteis. The demand for fulfillment of the proposal made in the early 70s is made a ping-pong game between the opposing integrations – Manipur and Nagas on the simple pretext that Kuki population is disproportionately high in the proposed Sadar Hills. For the Nagas, Sadar Hills is a move to curve out generous portions of the district they hope to integrate with Nagaland. For the Meiteis, it is an opportunity to strike a discord and disintegrate the unity of the hill people seen in the form of COPTAM. Between these opposing forces the issue of creating a mere administrative unit is blown out of proportion underscoring the fact that in the politics of Manipur nothing matters more than the politics of the opposing nationalisms of Meiteis and Nagas. However, the balance between the two will be easily tilted in the wake of the Kukis taking a u-turn. Any move to reach a consensus between the Nagas and the Kukis is going to prove highly detrimental to the interest of the Meiteis. Unlike earlier times the consensus is no longer impossible. That will be the end of Manipur’s integration or aspiration for Manipur’s sovereignty.

To maintain the status quo of Kuki political tone is to maintain the status quo of the integrity of Manipur territorial boundary. The use of trifle matters like creation of Sadar Hills district as a pawn to usher in communal hatred should not be seen as the solution to gain inches in the hills. The move to seize settlement rights in the hills and protection of Manipur integrity, at this point of time, will not go hand in hand and it is likely to backfire sooner or later. It sent out a very wrong signal that protection of the whole of Manipur is given up and the government is merely attempting to save small pieces of land surrounding the valley by means of urbanization and human planting.

Therefore, creation of Sadar Hills should be seen as a move to bring about development and administration and nothing more.

The above article was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Mr. Araba Meitei, he can be contacted at araba.meitei[at]yahoo.in

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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/nung-anigi-marakta-sadar-hills/

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read the full article at manipurhub.com


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read the full article at manipurhub.com

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