Ramnganing alias Ram Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga, served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for over 35 years, retiring as secretary Northeast Council in 2019. In 2022, he was elected an MLA on a Naga People’s Front ticket.

The Nagas had remained neutral in Ukhrul district in 2023 when the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities clashed. However, Ukhrul and Kamjong districts today are at the centre of much of the violence being reported from Manipur. In this online interview with lawyer-activist Nandita Haksar, Muivah explains what triggered the recent ambush and clashes in Ukhrul and how Nagas have been drawn into the conflict. Excerpts: 

Both the tribal communities, Nagas and the Kuki-Zo, have complained that hill districts have been discriminated against by successive governments in Manipur and at the Centre. Do you agree? 

To put the issue in perspective, all hill tribes in Northeast India have enjoyed statehood, starting with Nagaland in 1963, Meghalaya in 1972, Sikkim in 1975, and Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in 1987, respectively. Other tribals, including plains tribals in Assam like the Bodos, Karbis and Dimasa and hill tribes in Tripura have had the benefit of Territorial Councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Sadly, the hill tribes in Manipur are denied even local autonomy. The so-called Autonomous District Council in Manipur is a Local Act and toothless. 

Recently, a retired chief commissioner of Income Tax submitted his findings to the chief minister regarding huge disparity in the budgetary allocation and investments between valley and hill districts; inter alia, the capital expenditure for the valley area in 2024-25 was Rs 5,215 crore, while in the hills it was just Rs 378 crore, constituting 93 per cent and 7 per cent of the total respectively. The revenue expenditure during the same period was Rs 22,632 crore in the valley and Rs 4,041 crore in the hills, constituting 85 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

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To be brutally honest, the root cause of violence in Manipur, apart from demographic imbalance and drug trafficking, is the absence of power sharing and a spirit of accommodation.

There are examples of mixed populations living peacefully together and prospering. In Meghalaya, since its statehood (1972) there have been eight chief ministers, of whom four came from Garo and four from Khasi communities while the deputy CM comes from a small tribe, Jaintia. In Sikkim, the Rajya Sabha MP is always from minority communities like Bhutias and Lepchas. Similarly, the President of Singapore is always from a........

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