Nagaland's Clause 13 of the 16-Point
Agreement of 1960 does not apply to Manipur (Sept
25'01)
Nagaland Chief Minister SC Jamir's proposal to move a government resolution
in the State Assembly urging the Center to implement the remaining clauses of the
16-point Agreement of 1960
and especially Clause 13, is a cause of another round of irritation. It has to be noted that this agreement led to the formation of the state of Nagaland in 1963. The Naga Hills and Tuensang Area of Assam and NEFA respectively were
incorporated to form the present state of Nagaland via the NagaHills-Tuensang Area Act 1957.
The contention with this article has got to do with Clause 13, which mentions about the consolidation of contiguous Naga Area. It says, "
The Naga leaders expressed the view that other Naga inhabiting contiguous areas should be enabled to join the new State. It was pointed out to them on behalf of the Government of India that Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution provided for increasing the area of any state, but it was not possible for the Government of India to make any commitment in this regard at this
stage." The notion or rather that fact of Naga-inhabited areas was the basis for the formation of the state of Nagaland then. The resolution that is suggested by SC Jamir apparently is going to be based on the same premise of
"Naga-inhabited areas" and it is at this point that the matter needs to be clarified.
It is no wonder that in the very clause, it was mentioned that "it was not possible for the Government of India to make any commitment in this regard at this
stage" and it is rightly so, because of the fact that the existence of another major community was never taken into consideration. The so-called
Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur are also inhabited by Kukis even before the term
"Naga" was even created and of course history and present day events would stand testimony to this fact.
The Government of India was not able to make any commitment in this regard because Manipur was a kingdom that was annexed by India under controversial circumstances and it had nothing to do with any
Naga-inhabited or Kuki-inhabited areas at that time. Manipur was a political and economic entity and I am sure this can be agreed upon. That status quo of not being able to
"make any commitment at this stage" remains even to this day and will remain. In
Manipur, the hills are pretty much Kuki as well as Naga inhabited, though recent ethnic clashes between the Kukis and Nagas occurred apparently with the Nagas wanting to make the hills purely
Naga-inhabited so as to be able to drive down the very agenda of making the hills of Manipur
a part of the Greater Nagaland.
This line of thought concurs with the just concluded Anti-Ceasefire agitation, which arose due to the agreement between NSCN (IM) and Government of India to extend the ceasefire to the so-called
Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur
and other areas in the North-East. It is imperative that the use of the term
Naga-dominated is popularized as opposed to Naga-inhabited. To
outsiders, it could mean projection of the idea that the hills of Manipur are
indeed only inhabited by the Nagas.This simple fact, if pursued
for its very practical and consequential realization would make Clause 13 of the 16-point Agreement
obsolete and irrelevant. The terminology of course does not apply to any areas in the North-East.
It can noted with a pinch of sarcasm that this very move to pass a resolution in the Nagaland Assembly would
not help the healing process that is taking place in the state of Manipur. It can be deemed only as a provocation and supporters of the "Greater Nagaland Theory" would be given another chance to raise their ugly heads. The politicians in Manipur and Nagaland have to dwell on this matter in the most sensitive manner and avoid any further misunderstandings. The state of Nagaland has got enough problems of its own and I believe that SC Jamir should concentrate on development of his own state at this point.
This move is an affront to the people of Manipur. SC Jamir has to realize that Manipur is a multi-ethnic society and any move to incite further troubles and chaos is not welcome. Dialogues between the various communities of Manipur are taking place and perhaps the people of Manipur would like to be left alone. At the same time, his complaints regarding the violation of Clause 2 and Clause 11 by the Government of India is noted and the people of Manipur stand with the people of Nagaland in this regard.
The issue of Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur does not exist anymore, because the hills of Manipur are inhabited by other communities as well. Therefore Clause 13 in relation to Manipur is dead and the Government of India knows that.
SC Jamir should not use this issue for his own political gains, because it is a dangerous precedent and does not bode well for state-to-state relations. It is time now for economic co-operation and not a time to redraw boundaries. I am sure SC Jamir has got a lot of work to do for the people of
Nagaland. The Nagas of Manipur will be taken care by the state it belongs to. Interference in the affairs of another state is a hazard to the political occupation that he presently sits on.
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