By Samudra Gupta Kashyap
Nine years after the Greater Nagalim issue left Nagaland and Manipur on the boil, the planned visit of NSCN (IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah has again put the two states on the edge.
Who is Thuingaleng Muivah?
Originally appointed as general secretary of A Z Phizo’s Naga National Council (NNC) in 1964, 75-year-old Thuingaleng Muivah is currently general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim faction headed by him and its chairman Isak Chisi Swu, thus the acronym NSCN (IM). He, Swu and Khaplang (now heading the NSCN-K faction) launched the NSCN in 1978 following the Shillong Accord by the NNC in November 1975. The NSCN split into NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) in 1988. Muivah is also ‘ato kilonser’ — “prime minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN)” — with Swu being its ‘yaruiwo’ or “president”.
What is Nagalim?
While Nagaland (area: 16,527 sq km) was created on December 1, 1963, out of the Naga Hills district of Assam, combined with the Tuensang Tract of erstwhile North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), Nagalim or “Greater Nagalim” is the proposed sovereign Naga state that the NSCN wants. It comprises the present Nagaland as well as all “Naga-inhabited” areas of adjoining Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Myanmar, together adding up to about 1,20,000 sq km.
What is the current status of the NSCN agitation?
The NSCN (IM) signed a ceasefire with the Government of India on July 25, 1997, which came into effect from August 1, 1997. While the ceasefire was an outcome of then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao’s first meeting with Muivah in Paris in 1995, successive PMs H D Deve Gowda and A B Vajpayee also met the NSCN (IM) in Zurich and Paris in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Since then over 40 rounds of talks have taken place between the government and the NSCN (IM) leadership. Muivah, who lives in Bangkok, Amsterdam and other places, has been in India since March, mostly put up at the NSCN(IM)’s general headquarters at Hebron near Dimapur in Nagaland.
He is a Tangkhul Naga hailing from Somdal in Ukhrul district of Manipur. The hill districts of Manipur, especially Ukhrul, Senapati and Tamenglong, are dominated by Tangkhuls and other smaller Naga tribes. With the NSCN (IM) demanding inclusion of Manipur’s hill districts in ‘Greater Nagalim’, Muivah expressed his wish to visit his ancestral village. It would be his first visit to Somdal since 1964, which he left after joining the Naga rebels. Since then he has either been underground or has lived abroad.
Why does Manipur have a problem with the visit?
The government of Manipur obviously does not want to part with even an inch of its territory. The Centre’s decision in 2001 to extend the ceasefire with the NSCN (IM) without territorial limits had evoked massive protests in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In Manipur, protesters had even set the state Assembly building on fire. Eighteen persons were killed in police firing. Manipur’s stand is that Muivah is not just visiting his village but would also address public meetings to whip up the campaign for inclusion of the state’s hill districts in ‘Greater Nagalim’.
What is the Centre’s role?
Incidentally, the Centre, on April 29, asked the governments of Manipur and Nagaland to provide Muivah, a Z-plus protectee, “foolproof security” when he visited Somdal in Ukhrul, and held public meetings at Ukhrul and Senapati. But Okram Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, is determined not to let Muivah enter his state.
What is the current situation in Manipur?
The Meiteis who dominate the Imphal Valley (and constitute about 70 per cent of the state’s population) are opposed to Muivah’s visit. The All Manipur United Clubs Organisation (AMUCO) has imposed a ban on vehicle movement from Imphal Valley to the hill districts. The United Naga Council (UNC) of Manipur on the other hand has resorted to strikes against the Ibobi Singh government’s stand against Muivah. Two persons were killed when police fired upon protesters at Mao in Manipur close to the Nagaland border on May 6. Protesters have also set on fire government offices in Manipur’s hill districts. The two highways which connect Manipur to the outside world — NH-39 and NH-53 — have been paralyzed due to blockades put up by both sides.
What is Nagaland’s stand?
While on the one hand Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphui Rio has accused Ibobi Singh of “using state machinery against the people of Manipur who are protesting democratically (against Manipur’s refusal of entry to Muivah)”, on the other hand, he personally went to meet Muivah to ask him to postpone his visit to Manipur till the situation improved. The Nagaland Assembly has in the past adopted resolutions supporting integration of all Naga-inhabited areas.
Where is Muivah at the moment?
Having set off from Hebron along with several top NSCN (IM) leaders for Somdal on May 5, Muivah is currently put up at Viswema, a village in Nagaland 10 km short of the border with Manipur. While the PMO and the Government of India have requested him to postpone his Somdal visit till the situation improves, Muivah is bent on going ahead. He had earlier turned down a government offer to take a helicopter to Somdal.
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