Ghost of Kpi continues to haunt Strong stand of UNC

11th round and seven years down the line and the United Naga Council has every reason to feel peeved at the failure of the ongoing tripartite talks to break any new ground. The latest round of talk was held at New Delhi just the other day and here again the apex body of the Nagas of Manipur had every reason to feel let down as no MLA or Minister from the Government of Manipur turned up at the meeting. The stand of the UNC is clear enough. On paper it is a demand to review the Government decision of 2016 to create seven new districts but to any keen observer, it would be more than clear that the main grouse of the UNC and the Naga people is the creation of Kang-pokpi district, which was hitherto a part of Senapati district. Infiltrators from across the border and there is hence no reason to carve out a district at the demands of these immigrants is the stand of the UNC and it is for this very reason why 4 MoUs were earlier signed at the intervention of the Centre not to upgrade Sadar Hills to the status of a district without consulting the Naga people. That the State Government back in 2016 sidestepped the name Sadar Hills and instead opted for Kangpokpi is there on paper but it was the same thing at the ground. Created in December of 2016, the other six districts rolled out by the then State Government did not arouse the interests of the people, but it was the creation of Kangpokpi which became a staple diet of discussion for days back in 2016. It was a midnight stroke and The Sangai Express has already recounted how Stop Press was declared and the Editor had to rush back to the office in the dead of the night to get the news published after taking out a news item. The ghost created in  the winter of 2016 is yet to be exorcised and this was made clear in no uncertain terms in the strong stand adopted by the UNC during the tripartite talks held at New Delhi on October 11. To anyone who has been following the reports and developments on the new districts created in 2016, the focus will now be on November 15, the next date set for the tripartite talks at Senapati. How things will turn out is anybody’s guess, but looking at the reality that is Manipur today, the frustration and anger of the UNC and the Naga people is understandable. And remember the strong stand against the creation of Kangpokpi can be better understood in the backdrop of the growing demand that the National Register of Citizens be updated in Manipur. It should also be understood against the backdrop of the border fencing which has been assured by New Delhi as well as the decision taken to do away with the Free Movement Regime. As a community chiefly residing in the hills, it has been the Naga community which has been impacted directly by the growing number of illegal immigrants and the sharp vigil necessitated at Kamjong side should underline this fact. And remember the well prepared presentation made by MLA of Phungyar Assembly Constituency Leishiyo Keishing in the recently held Monsoon session of the State Assembly.
Creation of new districts should ideally be understood on the lines of administrative convenience and one just need to look at Jiribam which was otherwise earlier in Imphal East. However when districts are seen and understood along ethnicity then this is becomes a matter of concern and this is exactly what is happening with the case of Kangpokpi today. As the dominant community in Kangpokpi, the Kukis have asserted its stronghold on the district, identifying it as their ‘land’ and it is on account of the existence of two districts, the other being Churachandpur which they identify as theirs, that the call for a Separate Administration has been raised. The Government cannot be blind to the politics of district at play here and one wonders how Imphal and New Delhi will negotiate their way through as the tripartite talks continue. To the UNC, nothing less than rolling back the decision to create Kangpokpi will be acceptable. This is how things stand at the moment and while anything may happen in the coming days, it is for certain that the ghost of Kangpokpi will continue to haunt the Government of Manipur, as long as it continues to remain as a district. The dicey position of the Government can be understood and the stand of the UNC is also understood in the face of the fact that there are competing forces on land and this has become all that more acute in the face of steady immigration from across the Indo-Myanmar border.