Territorial claims among different ethnic tribes of Manipur

Longjam Tony Angom *

Manipur Maps showing the different districts :: Pix - TSE

NAGA IDENTITY

The origin of the generic term 'Naga' is shrouded in mystery. Till today there is no definite answer to this question of the origin of the name 'Naga'. However, there are three prominent hypothesis regarding Naga's origin viz (i) the 'Nanga' meaning 'paucity of cloth' hypothesis of L.W. Shakespeare (1914), Robert Reid (1942), William Robinson (1841), Johnstone (2002) and E.W. Dun (1981); (ii) the 'Nok' meaning 'people or folk' hypothesis of S.E. Peal (1894), E. Gait (1963) and V. Elwin (1960) and (iii) the 'Naka' meaning 'pierced ears' hypothesis of R.R. Shimray (1985).

Whatever may be the origin of the name 'Naga', but it is widely accepted that the name was given by the people of Brahmaputra and Barak valleys (Kabui, 1995: 24). With the consolidation of British rule and spread of Christianity, the use of the name 'Naga' has been popularized. Nagas in Manipur has 18 sub-tribes viz. Aimol, Anal, Chiru, Chothe, Kharam, Koireng, Kom, Maring, Mayon, Monshang, Lamkang, Mao, Maram, Thangal, Poumai, Tangkhul, Tarao and Zeliangrong (Singh, 2008: 53). The use of the name Naga among these sub-tribes have been popularized after the World War II.

NAGA NATIONALISM

With the formation of Naga National Council (NNC) in 1946 by AZ Phizo, the growth of nationalism took an anti-Indian turn, the Nagas of Manipur were not integrated with the movement. The Nagas of Manipur were neither a signatory to the memorandum submitted by Naga Club to the Simon Commission nor took part in Phizo's plebiscite of 1951 on the question of Nagas' independence.

Moreover, the Nagas of Manipur were not included in the proposed idea of 'unified Nagaland' as demanded by the Naga Peoples' Convention (NPC) in 1957. The leaders of NPC only demanded for unification of the Tuensang division of North Eastern Frontier Agency and not any Naga inhabited areas of Manipur (Nag, 2002: 150). However, the demand for unification of Naga inhabited areas in Manipur with Nagaland got a boost following the declaration of Indian National Congress that it did not consider the Naga integration movement as anti-party, anti-national and unconstitutional activity (www.satp.org).

The demand for unification was brought into the sharp focus following the establishment, and ascendance to hegemony, of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and subsequently NSCN (Isak-Muivah) [NSCN (I-M)]. With the strategy of NSCN (I-M) to engage the Government of India through peace overtures and effecting the merger of Naga inhabited hills of Manipur as part of the bargain backfired on the face of stiff opposition from the Meiteis, the Naga nationalism in Manipur turned assertive and restive.

NSCN (I-M) mobilizes the Nagas of Manipur through Naga social organizations like United Naga Council, Manipur (UNC), All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM) and Naga Women's Union, Manipur (NWUM). The Christian Nagas in general under the influence of NSCN (I-M) in particular are, explicitly or tacitly, in favour of unification, but non-Christian Nagas in general and a segment of the politically active Christian Nagas other than NSCN (I-M) are in favour of status quo.

KUKI IDENTITY

No doubt they were a wandering race. They were first heard in 1777 during the Governor Generalship of Warren Hastings (first governor general of Bengal), when these tribes frequently attacked the British subjects in Chittagong (Gangte, 1993: 19). They were, however, heard in Manipur in between 1830 and 1840. In 1845, their large scale migration caused anxiety to the old Kuki inhabitants of the hill people (Johnstone, 2002: 45).

In order to bring a solution to the problem, Mc Culloh, the then Political Agent of Manipur, allotted land and settled them down in such a manner that they act as guards on exposed frontiers. Following Mc Culloh's policy, in 1855 the British Government settled a large colony of Kukis to the east of North Cachar and beyond the Langting river to act as a barrier against the Naga raids in North Cachar (Ray, 1990: 28).

Like the term Naga, the Kuki is also a generic term applied to the various sub-tribes, viz., Thadou, Paite, Hmar, Simte, Zou, Gangte, Vaiphei, Guite, Ralte, Sukte, etc. In Manipur, they were known as Khongjais before the use of the term Kuki.

There are three views regarding the origin of the term Kuki: (i) it is derived from a word applied to a system of cultivation by the Bengalis (Dun, 1981: 32); (ii) it is derived from the Baluchisthan (Sind Province Pakistan) word 'Kuchis' meaning 'wandering people' and (iii) it is derived from the English word 'Kooky' meaning 'peculiar or unusual people' (Vaiphei, 1995: 126). Though no definite answer is found as to the origin of the term Kuki, it is widely accepted that it was given by outsiders.

KUKI NATIONALISM

With the British rule coming to an end, the Kukis formed the Kuki National Assembly (KNA), in October, 1946, to press forward the cause of the Kukis and demand for a homeland for themselves. However, with the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union in 1949, this demand was subsided. However, with the Nagas and other tribal groups in the region getting their homelands, the young generations of the Kukis became restive. The sense of desperateness has increased manifold with the NSCN gaining ground in the hills of Manipur since 1980 and the Naga demand for unification started becoming louder.

With the ascendancy of the NSCN (I-M) at the driver's seat since 1988, Kukis have realized a serious threat to their livelihood. The realization that without "a well-demarcated homeland the future of the Kukis is destined to be doomed" has dawned into the Kuki community psyche. The demand for a Kuki homeland called 'Zale'n-gam: land of freedom' was spearheaded with the formation of underground government called Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and its armed wing Kuki National Army (KNA*) in 1988 under the leadership of Pu Thangkholun, a Manipuri Kuki.

The main objective of KNO is to carve out a homeland for the Kukis, i.e., 'Kukiland', one in India and the other in Myanmar (Haokip, 2008: 376-377, 403). Similarly, Nehlun Kipgen, a Manipuri Kuki, formed the Kuki National Front (KNF) in 1988 with the objective of carving out an autonomous 'Kukiland' under the Constitution of India (Kipgen, 2006). However, the territorial claims of the Kukis overlap the territorial claims of the Nagas in Manipur. This overlapping territorial interest has brought the two communities into a conflicting situation.

The Nagas see the Kukis as a barrier on the way to their long cherished goal for unification. The territorial claims of the Kukis include the districts of Churachandpur, Chandel and some portions of Tamenglong, Senapati and Ukhrul, whereas the Nagas claim the districts of Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Chandel. Thus, the Kukis and Nagas have overlapping and conflicting territorial interests over all the hill districts of Manipur, except Churachandpur.

This conflicting territorial claim has turned into inter-tribal warfare in 1992 while the Nagas at the behest of NSCN (I-M) asserted their supremacy over the Kukis (For details of the Naga-Kuki conflict, Singh, 2008). One important implication of the conflict is the proliferation of Kuki underground organizations.

The failure of the state to protect the Kukis from the onslaught of the Nagas, especially NSCN (I-M), during the conflict, gave birth to Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), Zomi Revolutionary Organisation (ZRO) and United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF). The Kuki nationalism, thus, stands aloof in an amazingly complex ethno-political matrix in Manipur and wonders into the blind lanes of militancy in search of a homeland of their own.

My message to all

Although each group shares the common political boundary of the state of Manipur with other, their political aspirations essentially confine within the ethno-social boundary. The optimization of group interest often leads a group to choose an option that violates the territorial integrity of the present political boundary of the state, e.g., the Naga demand for unification. The diverged national goals have, thus, created faultlines along ethno-social identity.

Kanana Kuki kanana Naga Kanana Meitei eikhoi Kangleipak haiba lamsida lisaang sitna chahi cha kayadagi khunda leitaminnaduna hingmirakpa ngaakta natabra? Eikhoi masel muknaringei mitop miyaang cha singna eramdam lousinhkhidoire. Eikhoigi amata oiba thouna lingjel puthoktuna sotharaba ema leipak si malem gi thaakta pukhattuna saktaaknaba hotnaminnarasi. "EIKHOI MASEL KHATNA GUMSI"....

Achumbana Yaiphare