The prospects of a final settlement of the Naga issue has stirred the political pot in Manipur

With reports that a final settlement of the Naga question may be round the corner, as talks between the government and Naga rebel groups enter a crucial stage, there is increasing concern in the states of Manipur and Assam that their boundaries may be changed. In Manipur, this has created political ripples and the Naga People’s Front, which has four seats in the state government, finds itself in a bind.

Controversy first broke out when news spread that the Naga People’s Front had skipped an all-party meeting on October 29 called by Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh to discuss the Naga framework’s possible impact on Manipur. Former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh of the Congress held a press conference soon after where he he attacked the Naga party.

“The all-party meet was intended to strengthen the BJP-led government’s stand in protecting Manipur’s integrity but NPF strayed at this crucial time”, he reportedly said, adding that the absence of the Naga lawmakers suggested a possible rift between them and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

But there was, in fact, a representative of the Naga People’s Front in the meeting: its legislator from the Tamei constituency and state unit president Awangbow Newmai, confirmed people present in the meeting. “Everyone wants to create a communal issue by creating a hill-valley divide in Manipur,” said Newmai. “But [our] only hope and desire is that there is a solution to the Naga issue soon, which is acceptable to everyone.”

‘Greater Nagaland’

Manipur’s anxieties about its boundaries can be traced back to the map of Nagalim, or Greater Nagaland, the imagined homeland for which Naga rebel groups have been fightig for decades. Apart from Nagaland, it encompasses “all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas” in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as Myanmar across the border.

The government interlocutor, RN Ravi, has maintained that the settlement won’t alter the maps of any of these states. But the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), the main Naga group in talks with government, has insisted that territorial integration of Naga areas will be part of the settlement.

In Manipur, the stakes are particularly high. The envisioned territory of Nagalim comprises a significant chunk of the state’s hill districts. It is also home to a large Naga population.

What makes matters even more complex is the fact that the Naga People’s Front, a Naga-centric party, is also a coalition partner in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Manipur government. In the Assembly elections held earlier this year, the BJP won fewer seats than the Congress but managed to cobble together a majority with regional parties. In Nagaland, which is slated to go polls early next year, the Naga People’s Front is the senior partner in the coalition government of which the BJP is also a constituent.

The minutes of the all-party meeting in Manipur, which Scroll.in has seen, state that a resolution has been adopted by “all political parties present” to pursue the government of India to “preserve and protect the oneness of Manipur at any circumstances.”

The parties also resolved to form a sub-committee to draft a “comprehensive memorandum” to submit to the prime minister. M Asnikumar, the vice president of the BJP’s Manipur unit, who attended the meeting, claimed that all the resolutions were unanimously adopted without any objection from anyone, including the Naga People’s Front leader. “It is only the Congress which is creating confusion,” he claimed.

A threat to the ‘elected members’

But the Naga party finds itself under attack on two fronts. The United Naga Council, a conglomerate of Naga groups in Manipur, has issued a statement warning “elected members” from the Naga community that anyone working against the “collective history of the Nagas” would invite consequences.

It was evidently directed at the Naga People’s Front – the only Naga party in Manipur that sends any elected members to the state assembly. “We are closely observing the unfolding development in Manipur currently,” read the statement. “We will respond befittingly to all those elements and factors who/which are hurdles to the Naga peace process.”

K Leishiyo, one of the four Naga People’s Front legislators in Manipur, said that he would never go against the interest of his community. “I represent the Nagas,” he said. “I have to look after the interests of my voters who are all Nagas, just like people who represent the Meitei community in the [Imphal] valley would obviously look after their interests.”

Leishiyo insisted that there was no disagreement within the government, adding that it was “Ibobi’s game plan to destabilise the government”. The lawmaker, however, refused to comment on the contentious issue of territorial integration. He said “The settlement is between the NSCN (IM) and the government of India. We are not part of the negotiation process. So, at this point, I can’t say anything on integration.”

Gaidon Kamei, president of the United Naga Council, seemed to have taken a step back from his organisation’s stern warning to the Naga People’s Front. He said that his organisation supported the Naga People’s Front because of a “commonality in political ideology”.

“We have sent them to the Assembly to represent the Nagas and mandated them to fight for our cause,” he contended. “So, if they are advocating our cause in any meeting, there is no problem. We are just asking the elected members to not take any kind of decision that is going to be detrimental to the Nagas.”

A rift within its ranks

Meanwhile, as the Naga People’s Front in Manipur tries to tread a delicate balance, it must also contend with a split within its ranks. In Nagaland, two factions of the party have been locked in battle this year.

In February, protests against women’s reservations in urban local body polls had forced the incumbent chief minister, TR Zeliang, to resign. He was replaced by Shurozelie Liezietsu. Within months, Liezietsu was forced to vacate the post to make room for Zeliang again. Now, while the Zeliang faction holds power in the government, the Liezietsu faction claims to be the only group that truly represents the party.

This rift has now reached the party in Manipur, leading to a division in the state branch of the party. The two blocs have issued contradictory statements about the all-party meeting in Manipur. The Liezietsu faction insists that no one from the party attended the meeting. Newmai, it said, has been suspended by the high command of the party and should not be treated as an official representative.