BLAZING MANIPUR
What are Manipur's new districts? How have they been created?
On December 9, the Manipur government issued a gazette notification creating 7 new districts by bifurcating 7 of the state's existing 9 districts. This took the number of districts in the state to 16.
Of Manipur's 9 districts, 4 were valley districts; the other 5 were hill districts. The valley districts of Imphal East and Imphal West together form Manipur's capital, Imphal. Imphal East had a non-contiguous pocket to its west, on the state's border with Silchar in Assam.
Valley districts are smaller - estimated to have only 30% of the state's land - with a high density of population; hill districts are sparsely populated. Jhoom cultivation - cultivating a portion of land and setting it on fire before moving on - is the primary occupation, and a village can traditionally own hundreds of hectares.
All 5 hill districts have been bifurcated; of the 4 valley districts, Bishenpur and Imphal West have been left alone.
The govt is yet to release a new map to replace the existing districts ma.
Why were the districts created?
Officially, it was both a response to longstanding demands of local people, and for reasons of administrative efficiency.
Who has been opposing the creation of the new districts, and why?
The UNC and other Naga leaders have two main complaints.
- They say Naga villages have been "appropriated" and merged with non-Naga areas to form the new districts in an attempt to divide the Naga people.
- The government did not consult the Hill Area Committees before taking the decision. The Hill Area Committees are formed to protect the rights of hill people, and under Article 371(C) of Constitution, must be consulted on matters relating to tribal people.
A month ago, after the UNC began its blockade, its leaders were arrested, which angered the UNC and NSCN (IM).
The hill-valley divide has deepened over the past two years as the demand for introducing the Inner Line Permit in Manipur, made by the Meitei community, has gathered momentum. The tribals have remained largely anti-ILP.
How have the protests impacted the situation in Manipur?
The UNC's economic blockade which began on November 2 demanding the repeal of the three Bills related to ILP and bifurcation, led to a severe shortage of commodities, and the price of petrol shot up drastically. After its leaders were arrested on November 25, the UNC intensified its protests.
Various tribal bodies in Manipur (tribals constitute roughly 35 per cent of the state's population), including the UNC, demanded the unconditional release of the arrested leaders. On the other hand, Christian bodies - most tribals in the state are Christians and although there are Christians amongst the non-tribal population, they mostly follow different forms of Hinduism, Islam and an indigenous faith called Sanamahism - appealed to the UNC to withdraw the blockades.
Backgrounder
The violence is a result of the transforming character of the "Naga nationalist" movement that has come to threaten Manipur's existence. A large number of cadres and top leadership of the NSCN (I-M), including its leader T. Muivah, come from Manipur.
As the mantle of leading the "Naga nationalist" movement increasingly rests with the group, the theme of being discriminated against has gained currency over the traditional theme, "we are not Indians", in the Naga political discourse. As the decades-old India-Naga rift gradually transforms into a Naga-Manipuri conflict, the government of India finds itself as the mediator of a new conflict, rather than being a party to one of the oldest armed conflicts in South Asia.
The UNC subscribes to an expression of "Naga nationalism" that endangers Manipur. It calls for a "separate administration" of the areas which it terms as "Naga areas" in the state as an "interim arrangement". This aspiration puts the group into conflict with those who believe in the integrity of Manipur's polity and society. The conflict has grown during the past two decades, which incidentally also coincides with the time period of the talks between the NSCN (I-M) and the Indian government. Many in Manipur, including the state government, see the UNC as a front organisation of the NSCN (I-M).
The UNC challenges the idea of Manipur as a historically evolved geo-political entity. Terming Manipur as "artificially" created by the colonial rulers, it seeks to split the state's polity along communal lines (Nagas, Kukis, Meiteis).
During the 1990s, the state witnessed bloodshed amongst communities as propaganda and violence sought to sharply demarcate the tribals in terms of two conglomerates - the "Nagas" and the "Kukis". Treating fellow citizens as migrants, issuing "quit notices" and exterminating a tribe from an area claimed by another tribe have left indelible scars on the psyche of the people.
Such exclusivist politics have intensified since the turn of the century. Even though the Centre maintains that its "ceasefire" with the NSCN (I-M) is applicable only in Nagaland, it is common knowledge that the group operates with impunity in Manipur. The authority of the state government has eroded in many areas, which are under the sway of the group.
There is a seething resentment amongst the people against the attempts of the UNC and NSCN (I-M) to disintegrate Manipur along communal lines.