Dr Ranjan raises Kabaw Valley issue with External Affairs Minister

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 19: Lok Sabha MP Dr Rajkumar Ranjan met Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar in the Parliament complex today and raised the issue of Kabaw Valley.
However, as the issue could not be discussed due to paucity of time, Jaishankar asked Ranjan to give a written statement. As such, Dr Ranjan handed over a written statement to the Union Minister.
Dr Ranjan pointed out that Manipur had given nearly 22,210 sq. km of land called Kabaw Valley to Burma (now Myanmar) under the Treaty of Yandabo, 1826. For this lost territory, Manipur used to get an indemnity or tribute of Sicca Rs 500 per month from Burma. The present value of Sicca Rs 500 would be more than Rs 8,000 crore.
After the transfer of power in 1947, the Burmese Government paid the said amount to the Government of India which in turn, passed on the same amount to Manipur.
Since Manipur's merger with India in 1949, the amount went straight to the Central exchequer. Consequently, Manipur has been deprived of any compensation of Kabaw Valley, no lease-money, no tribute or no indemnity.  People of Manipur are still grumbling for such a raw deal, conveyed the Lok Sabha MP.
In the year 1953, U Nu, the then Prime Minister of Burma came to Manipur and met his Indian counterpart Jawaharlal Nehru.
What agreement was arrived at between the two leaders was never known to the people of India, particularly to the people of Manipur. Thereafter, no record of receiving the indemnity/compensation from Burma is found. This is a humongous loss for India, particularly Manipur. Something must be done for Manipur to compensate the loss of Kabaw Valley, Dr Ranjan urged.
He also appealed to the External Affairs Minister to review the Indo-Burma Boundary Commission 1967 and the boundary demarcation of 1975 in order to settle controversies and inconsistencies along the Indo-Myanmar boundary. Redrawing of the Indo-Myanmar boundary line along Manipur following the traditional boundary land-marks must be done using remote sensing devices of ISRO and Surveyor General of India.
Dr. Ranjan also supported the idea of bus service between Imphal (India) and Mandalay (Myanmar).
He reminded the External Affairs Minister that Chief Minister Biren Singh had already made an announcement to start bus service between Imphal and Mandalay in the month of June 2020. He urged the External Affairs Minister for special attention and support of his Ministry so as to make the bus service a grand success.