Songpi: BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip has said that the sharp increase in the number of Kuki villages and other villages in Manipur’s hill districts is not a recent phenomenon but a result of displacement caused by the Naga-Kuki ethnic conflict of the 1990s and other administrative irregularities.
Haokip, who represents Saikot Assembly Constituency in Churachandpur district, made the statement through a social media post late Friday night. He was responding to the recent disclosure of 926 unrecognised villages in the state.
The figure of 926 unrecognised villages, which includes many Kuki villages, was recently shared by former Chief Minister N Biren Singh after his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, which sparked a fresh debate on village recognition and demography in the state.
According to Haokip, a major reason for the increase in Kuki villages is the displacement that occurred during the Naga-Kuki conflict from 1992 to 1995. During that period, thousands of Kuki families were forced to leave their original settlements and establish new Kuki villages in areas dominated by their own communities.
He also alleged large-scale creation of ghost villages, including ghost Kuki villages, in collusion with corrupt officials. These non-existent villages, he said, were created only on paper to draw funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Another factor, Haokip pointed out, is the long-standing tradition among the Kukis and other tribals of splitting villages to create new hamlets led by sons of tribal chiefs, which has been a common practice in the hill areas.
The Kuki-Naga conflict of the early 1990s remains one of the most violent ethnic conflicts in Manipur’s history, resulting in over 1,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 50,000 tribal people, mostly Kukis, across the hill districts.
In another post on Saturday, Haokip also commented on the controversial 2001 Census figures, which showed an abnormal decadal growth of over 100 percent in certain sub-divisions of Senapati district.
He said the abnormal growth was not due to immigration from Chin State in Myanmar but was a result of a fraudulent census exercise in some Naga-dominated sub-divisions.
Haokip further argued that linking the high growth rate to a decline in Chin State’s population is misleading, as tens of thousands had fled Myanmar due to military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, taken refuge under UNHCR, and were later relocated in large numbers to the USA and European countries.
Manipur shares a 398-kilometre-long international border with Myanmar, and issues related to Kuki villages, population, migration and village recognition have remained politically sensitive in the state for decades.
