Manipur government announces the creation of seven new districts, casting a shadow on the ambitious Naga peace accord.
It was a cold, dark Christmas in Manipur. The lifelines of the landlocked state, its roads and highways, have been cut off for more than 50 days. In the southwestern Churachandpur district, bodies of nine tribal youth have been lying in a morgue for more than a year now. The frozen bodies and the blocked highways have become a symbol of the hill versus valley battle in Manipur, which has fallen prey again to narrow political battles, while the Ibobi Singh government is preparing for the assembly elections next year.
On December 9, the Ibobi government announced the creation of seven new districts, including Jiribam, a Kuki-dominated district, and Sadar Hills, a predominantly non-tribal district. It made the United Naga Council, backed by the powerful National Socialist Council of Nagaland, NSCN (IM), rise up against the state government, alleging that it was encroaching upon the ancestral land of the Nagas.
“The Manipur impasse is because of the imprudence of the Ibobi government, which is trying to make political capital out of the unrest. The divide between the valley and the hill is damaging national unity and has become a threat to security. I have appealed to have the bodies of the nine young protestors buried, as the Union government has heard their complaints with sympathy and assured due consideration,” said BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
This story is from the January 08, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the January 08, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
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