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IMPHAL — Manipur-based United Naga Council (UNC) on Wednesday temporarily suspended its 48-hour shutdown after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) called for a tripartite meeting on October 11 to discuss the issue.
MHA’s advisor, North East Affairs, A. K. Mishra in a letter to UNC President N.G. Lorho informed that the tripartite meeting with the Naga body would be held on October 11 in New Delhi and invited them to attend the meeting.
Soon after the MHA’s notice for the tripartite talks, the UNC announced the temporary suspension of its 48-hour shutdown from midnight of October 3 in support of their demand for rollback of the ‘arbitrary creation’ of seven new districts in all Naga-dominated areas of Manipur.
UNC’s Information and Publicity Secretary James Hau in a statement said that on receipt of an official invitation for a tripartite talk on their demand for the creation of new districts rollback between the Centre, Manipur government and the UNC on October 11 and at the request of the representative of the MHA, the proposed 48 hours total bandh in Naga areas from the midnight of October 3 is temporarily suspended.
“Whilst acknowledging the unflinching support and cooperation from the constituent units, subordinate bodies, various Naga frontal organisations, and the Naga populace, in general, are requested to remain steadfast and be prepared for any course of action until our demand is met,” the statement said.
The UNC has been 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 statement 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 added 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 statement said that in protest against the arbitrary creation of seven new districts, mammoth protests, hartals and economic blockades were organised on all the National Highways for 139 days in the state and as many as ten rounds of tripartite talks were held on the issue between the Centre, the Manipur government and the UNC.”
The Naga body had said that the last 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 but received no response as of yet.
Naga people mostly inhabited six Manipur districts -- Tamenglong, Chandel, Ukhrul, Kamjong, Noney and Senapati, which are along the Nagaland and Myanmar borders.
During the 17-month-long ethnic unrest in Manipur between the non-tribal Meitei and the tribal Kuki-Zo community, Naga-inhabited areas remained peaceful.