Manipur: Tripartite talks on creation of new districts remain inconclusive

Imphal, Nov 29 (IANS) The tripartite talks between the Centre, Manipur government and the United Naga Council (UNC), over the Naga body’s demand for rollback of the ‘arbitrary creation’ of seven new districts in the state, remained inconclusive on Friday, officials said.

An official of the Manipur Home Department said that in the tripartite meeting, held at Senapati District Headquarters, discussions focused on the creation of seven new districts by the state government on December 8, 2016, and UNC's demand for rollback of the creation of these districts.

“The representatives of the Manipur government expressed inability to present a concrete proposal in view of certain difficulties. However, the UNC expressed strong exceptions over the state government’s non-submission of the concrete proposal and insisted that it be submitted in the next round of talk,” the official said referring to the decision of the meeting.

He said that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and it was mutually agreed that further progress would be made by engaging in a sustained manner in order to resolve the issue politically in a time-bound manner keeping in view the previous commitments.

The next round of tripartite talks would be held in the last week of January at Senapati district headquarters.

MHA’s advisor, North East Affairs, A. K. Mishra, Manipur Home Commissioner N. Ashok Kumar, four Naga community leaders including UNC’s President N.G.Lorho and General Secretary Vareiyo Shatsang attended the meeting

The UNC in October first week temporarily suspended its 48-hour shutdown after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) called for a tripartite meeting to discuss the issue.

The UNC organised a series of agitations demanding the rollback of the “arbitrary creation” of seven new districts in December 2016 and the reinstatement of the status quo.

The UNC had on September 11 issued an ultimatum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for redressal of the pending issue of “arbitrary creation” of seven new districts in Manipur in 2016 and warned of intense agitation if the matter was not resolved within 15 days.

The UNC had said that seven new districts were created arbitrarily by bifurcating parent districts on December 8, 2016, during the Congress regime without any information, consent or knowledge of the stakeholders.

It claimed that the seven new districts were created “dishonouring” the four memoranda between the government of Manipur and the Naga people besides the assurance from the Government of India in 2011.

The Naga body had said that the previous talks with the governments were held on March 9, 2019, with the assurance that a concrete proposal shall be placed by the Manipur government in the next round of talks, supposedly to be held by the last week of July 2019.

The UNC said that a missive had been sent to the office of the Special Secretary, Northeast, Ministry of Home Affairs, for resumption of the tripartite talks on January 22, 2024, and a prompt reminder was sent on February 23.

Naga people mostly inhabited six Manipur districts -- Tamenglong, Chandel, Ukhrul, Kamjong, Noney and Senapati, which are along the Nagaland and Myanmar borders.

During the 18-month-long ethnic unrest in Manipur between the non-tribal Meitei and the tribal Kuki-Zo community, Naga-inhabited areas remained peaceful.

--IANS

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