Author: Ratnadip Choudhury
Publication: Tehelka
Date: August 31, 2011
URL: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws300811northeast.asp
LPG, petrol and diesel have run dry, there
is an acute scarcity of oxygen cylinders and life saving drugs. Prices of
essential commodities are skyrocketing due to the forced closure of NH-39
that links capital Imphal with Dimapur in Nagaland, reports Ratnadip Choudhury
N Ramandra Singh and his wife Savitri Devi
live in the Singimei locality of Imphal. They have two LPG connections and
Ramandra owns a Royal Enfield motorcycle and a Tata Indica car. Yet, these
days Savitri does her cooking on logs and charcoal, while her husband rides
around in his old bicycle. Lest one think this couple is practising a fuel
conservation campaign, they are not. They are battling a blockade.
Manipur is smarting from an economic blockade
- the latest from what has now become regular annual fare - that started on
31 July 2011 and another counter blockade from 21 August 2011. LPG, petrol
and diesel have run dry, there is an acute scarcity of oxygen cylinders and
life saving drugs and prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing due
to the forced closure of NH-39 that links capital Imphal with Dimapur in Nagaland.
The bone of contention is the possibility
of the creation of a new district - the Special Area Demarcated Autonomous
Region (SADAR) hills - carving out three sub-divisions of Kangpokpi, Saikul
and Saitu Gamphazol from the district of Senapati. The demand for creation
of the SADAR hills district has been a long standing one from the Kuki tribe
and is spearheaded by the SADAR Hill Districthood Demand Committee (SHDDC).
On the other hand, the Nagas living in the four hill districts of Manipur
- Ukhrul, Talemlong, Chandel and Senapati - are vehemently opposed to the
idea as they do not want any bifurcation of Naga inhabited areas in the state.
The apex Naga body in Manipur, the United
Naga Council (UNC), is adamant that it will not give an inch of land from
the Naga villages for the new district. The blockades have made things worse
as the Meitieis living in the Imphal valley begrudge the move and might even
retaliate. The last nail in the coffin is the failure of the Okram Ibobi Singh
government to handle a political demand of creation of a separate district
and an administrative problem of forced closure of the national highway differently.
It is instead hoping that this too shall pass.
"The least Ibobi should have done is
to open the national highway. In the 10 years that he has been CM, Ibobi has
taken the state from the frying pan into the fire. Every time a crisis has
come, he has waited for it to die down. This might boomerang on him in the
ensuing Assembly polls in the state," observes Rishikanta Sharma, a retired
school teacher.
One can sense trouble right from the moment
one takes the NH-39 from Imphal. A five kilometre long queue for fuel meets
the eye. No other vehicles on the road, hardly any people. In Gamgiphai, scene
of the first blockade, roads are dug up, charred vehicles torched by protesters
lie at the sides, huge boulders obstruct the stretches - a virtual battle
zone. In just a few years, a series of economic blockades has left Manipur's
economy crippled. More than hard reason, it is a politics of emotions and
ethnicity that drives the crisis. "Our demand is very much legitimate.
Long ago, the Manipur government had cleared the decision of the creation
of a separate SADAR Hills district. We just want its implementation. The current
government wants political mileage out of the issue, and we will not step
back," reacts Ngamkhohao Haokip, president of SHDDC. In 1982, the Manipur
cabinet first decided that the SADAR hills district would be carved out. In
2000, the W Nipamacha Singh cabinet reaffirmed the 1982 decision of the creation
of SADAR hills, but subsequent Congress governments have put it in cold storage.
"My firm stand is that it (SADAR Hills)
has to be given with some adjustments in the boundary. It was there during
the British rule. SADAR Hills was also there during the commissioner's rule,
with some villages from here and there, which disturbed the compactness of
the hills. That can still be rectified. If that compact area can be demarcated
for them, they can have it," says former chief minister and Rajya Sabha
MP Rishang Keishing. "There is no question of it going against Nagas
because we are from the same state. They are no newcomers." But the Nagas
are unrelenting. "The Naga people need to be consulted. The Manipur government
cannot go against the MoU and it seems that Ibobi is trying to divide the
hill tribes. He will pay for it in the ensuing Assembly polls. He should not
dare the Naga unity, we are not against the Kuki but they have to understand
that they are playing into Ibobi's hands," reacts a top UNC leader from
Senapati on condition of anonymity. The MoU he mentions was signed on 10 November
1992, where the Manipur government had committed to promote basic human rights
and to assiduously work to ensure the peaceful co-existence of the tribals,
particularly the Nagas staying in Manipur. The Nagas feel that bifurcation
of Naga-inhabited areas would be a breach of that agreement.
The Kuki's hit back. "We are not asking
for a separate homeland, we are only asking for a new district for better
development of the area. The Nagas and the government should not oppose it,"
says 57-year-old Phalneiting Sitlhou from Kangpokpi, the proposed headquarters
of SADAR hills district.
The buck clearly stops at Ibobi Singh. A high-level
committee has been led by Chief Secretary DS Poonia to look into the SADAR
Hills district issue and pass a resolution in the Assembly for the creation
of a district boundary commission. The high level committee has been given
three months to come up with its report but by then Manipur might go for early
polls. All this makes it seem as if the CM is trying to buy time. Although
the opposition parties in the state are high on rhetoric, Ibobi is actually
enjoying the luxury of having no strong alternative in the state. But, there
are 20 tribal seats at stake. "If the economic blockade continues for
another month, then the people might lose patience," warns Pradip Phanjoubam,
editor of Imphal Free Press. "The state is yet to fully recover from
last year's 68 days blockade and this could have been avoided. Civil society
in Imphal will not remain silent, then it will become even more difficult
for the state government."
Although the creation of a district will not
put administrative blocks, what could be a problem is that in Manipur all
the revenue districts are in the valley and the non-revenue districts are
in the hills. SADAR Hills includes some areas of the valley too. Demarcating
land in the hills therefore could mean a stiff resistance from the Meitei
farmers residing there. Watchers believe the government can handle this prudently
but the larger question remains whether the government has any prudence at
all.
Perhaps Manipur needs a separate administrative
set up to bring back trust among communities, but for now all eyes on Ibobi
if he can get the national highway opened.
With inputs from Sharatchandra Sharma in Imphal
and Prakhar Jain in New Delhi
- Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent
with Tehelka.
ratnadip@tehelka.com
