A conglomerate of civil society organisations in Manipur said on Sunday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured it that the Centre would not approve community-based autonomy in the State.
Non-Naga groups in Manipur are wary of reports that the Centre was contemplating a territorial council each in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh as a solution to the protracted Naga political issue. Such a council is believed to be an alternative to the idea of a greater Naga homeland purportedly pursued by the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, or NSCN (IM).
Another ethnic group, the Zomi, has also been seeking a self-rule area in Manipur modelled on Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Council.
“We made our position very clear to him [Mr. Shah] on the issue of Manipur’s territorial integrity. He assured us that no autonomy will be granted to any community in our State. He said the Centre is working out a formula to resolve all internal contradictions in Manipur so that people of all ethnicities can work and live together in harmony,” said Khuraijam Athouba, leader of the Coordination Committee on Manipur’s Integrity (COCOMI).
“We have repeatedly said that we will not compromise on the issue of Manipur’s integrity. We want to cooperate for a settlement to the Naga issue but not at the cost of the interests of people in Manipur,” he said after a meeting with Mr. Shah and Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh in Imphal on Sunday.
The COCOMI has been asking the Centre to make public all the issues concerning Manipur being negotiated with the NSCN (IM).
Apart from COCOMI, delegations from the United Naga Council, Kuki Inpi Manipur and Zeliangrong Baudi met Mr. Shah. The last two organisations represent the Kuki and the Zeliang-Liangmai-Rongmei communities respectively.
