UKHRUL: The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) on Tuesday issued a strongly worded statement directing Kuki villages in Ukhrul and Kamjong districts not to comply with recent calls to pay hill house tax to Kangpokpi or put up signboards identifying themselves as part of “Kangpokpi District”, terming such moves “provocative”, “unconstitutional” and capable of worsening the already fragile situation in Manipur.
In a press statement dated May 26, the apex Tangkhul Naga civil body said it had taken “serious exception” to directives reportedly issued by Working Committee of Kuki CSOs Ukhrul (WCKCSO) and the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Ukhrul District.
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According to the TNL, the Kuki organisations had instructed Kuki villages in Ukhrul and Kamjong to pay hill house tax to authorities in Kangpokpi and to install signage identifying themselves as falling under Kangpokpi district jurisdiction.
Without naming any specific villages, the TNL described the directives as “totally irresponsible” and accused “self-styled Kuki organisations” of attempting to alter territorial classifications through pressure and intimidation.
The TNL statement further reiterated the Tangkhul body’s long-held position that the ancestral lands and traditional jurisdictions of Ukhrul and Kamjong belong to the indigenous Tangkhul Naga people. It further argued that no civil society group or “extra-constitutional entity” has the authority to redraw territorial identities or create parallel administrative structures.
The TNL also linked the issue to the long-standing opposition by Naga groups to the creation of seven new districts in Manipur in 2016. It stated that Nagas under the United Naga Council (UNC) continue to oppose what they call the “unconstitutional creation” of Kangpokpi district, maintaining that the district remains part of Senapati in the eyes of many Naga organisations.
Against the backdrop of rising tensions and recent violence in parts of Ukhrul and Kamjong, the TNL warned that any attempt to enforce such directives could further inflame the situation.
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“In view of the matter stated above,” the statement said, “all Kuki villages within the jurisdiction of Ukhrul and Kamjong” should refrain from putting up “provocative signage” and should not comply with directives to pay hill house tax to Kangpokpi authorities.
The apex body then cautioned that defiance of the directive “would escalate the volatile situation in an already fragile State of Manipur.”