Nagaland - Manipur issue

What is the issue?

Last week, Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu travelled to Imphal, Manipur to discuss inter-state matters with his counterpart Biren Singh.

Conflicted states:

• For years, both states have seen street protests against the other, with the mere mention of the ‘other’ state triggering road a blockade or bandh by some or the other group.
• The 105-km stretch of National Highway 2 (the erstwhile NH39) leading to Manipur had mostly remained shut or disrupted for more than a decade.
• Manipur and Nagaland have been held hostage to entrenched ethnic and tribal loyalties and rivalries, which flare up at regular intervals.
• The Naga tribes are not domiciled strictly within the state of Nagaland and those living in neighbouring states, like Manipur, harbour trans-state solidarities.

What is the impact of the meeting?

• The CMs underlined the potential win-win situation once they started working together, with the Centre’s Act East Policy holding out the promise of bringing economic benefits to the two states that share international boundaries with Myanmar.
• They agreed to resolve a range of issues, pending for years.
• The Meitei people are expected to come forward to play the role of the big brother to other communities in the region.
• Learned scholars and intelligentsia from the Meitei community is expected to come forward and create a conducive environment for the return of lasting peace and harmony.
• If both governments agree to sit across the table and resolve inter-state matters, which range from travel and trade to territorial issues, the outcomes will be truly transformational for the region.
• The government and the Joint Action Committee against the Anti-Tribal Bill have now reached an agreement, whereby the government will compensate the families of those who died in the protests in 2015, set up a memorial for them, and engage with tribal opinion in all future action.

Act East Policy:

• The present bridge-building is also the outcome of the political churn in the region.
• Since the 2014 general election, the BJP has courted parties and politicians in the region by floating the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
• The alliance holds office in both Manipur and Nagaland: Liezietsu’s Naga People’s Front leads the NEDA in Nagaland and is part of the BJP-led government in Manipur.
• The alliance has a historic opportunity to leap above the old faultlines and realise the Act East Policy of New Delhi, which holds the potential to transform the region.

Source: Indian Express