UKHRUL: The Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur (LNC) has clarified that its decision to remain unaffiliated with the Zeliangrong Union (ZU) and Zeliangrong Baudi (ZB) was not a rejection of ancestral brotherhood with the Zeme, Rongmei and Inpui communities, but a position arising from the organisational division within the Zeliangrong community.
The LNC stated that the split between the Zeliangrong Union and Zeliangrong Baudi in 2010, with both organisations claiming apex-body status, created confusion among the constituent tribes over which organisation to recognise and support.
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The LNC said it considered the division detrimental to the collective interests and unity of the kindred tribes and therefore decided to remain outside both organisations until their differences could be reconciled and a single, inclusive platform established.
Tracing its position to the reconciliation efforts initiated in 2010, the LNC said a joint meeting of the presidents of the Zeme Naga Council, Liangmai Naga Council, Rongmei Naga Council and Inpui Union, along with leaders of their respective church associations, was held on August 30, 2010, at Nagaram Community Hall, Imphal.
The meeting resolved to constitute a Joint Working Committee to facilitate reconciliation between the Zeliangrong Union and Zeliangrong Baudi. The committee subsequently held consultations with community leaders and visited Tamei, Tamenglong and Noney headquarters to seek the views of the constituent communities.
According to a clarification dated November 1, issued by the LNC, the consultations reflected a common desire to dissolve the two parallel organisations and establish a single, inclusive body representing the collective interests of the Makuiluangdi descendants. However, a proposed meeting with the leadership of both organisations on September 7, 2013, at Tarung Community Hall, Imphal, could not proceed due to the absence of their presidents.
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The LNC also referred to a joint councils meeting held on September 22, 2015, in Dimapur, where representatives of the Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei tribes discussed restructuring the existing organisational framework to ensure distinct and autonomous representation of the three tribes while maintaining their shared historical and ancestral ties.
At the Liangmai Naga Peoples’ Convention held on October 9, 2015, at Konsaram, the community adopted five declarations. Under Declaration No. 3, the convention resolved to uphold the distinct recognition and use of the name ‘Liangmai’ in accordance with its separate Scheduled Tribe status in Manipur and seek distinct recognition and representation within the United Naga Council (UNC).
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The LNC maintained that the convention’s position on nomenclature and organisational affiliation was not a rejection of shared ancestry or ancestral brotherhood. It also reiterated support for establishing a common apex social organisation representing the Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme tribes on a federal basis, with equitable representation for each constituent tribe.
The LNC further cited the Rongmei People’s Convention held on January 9, 2018, at Tamenglong, which adopted a similar position on participation in the existing Zeliangrong organisations until a common nomenclature for the Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei tribes, distinct from Zeliangrong, was established.
It also referred to a joint letter dated July 7, 2018, from the presidents of the Rongmei Naga Council, Manipur; Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur; and Zeme Naga Council, Manipur, to the president of the Zeliangrong Baudi (AMN), reiterating their position on organisational affiliation and nomenclature.
Responding to allegations portraying the Liangmai people as having abandoned the Zeliangrong fold or severed their ancestral ties with other kindred tribes, the LNC said such assertions misrepresented the historical context and the declarations adopted at the 2015 convention.
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The LNC then took note of press statements, particularly those published in The Cham Daily, which it said portrayed the Liangmai people as having severed ties with the wider Makuiluangdi kindred fold.
Reaffirming its position, the LNC stated that the Liangmai people share deep ancestral, historical and fraternal ties with the Zeme, Rongmei and Inpui peoples as descendants of Makuiluangdi. It maintained that these bonds remain distinct from questions of affiliation with any particular civil society organisation.
The LNC called upon all concerned to refrain from misrepresenting its position and urged that differences concerning nomenclature, representation and organisational affiliation be addressed through dialogue, historical understanding and mutual respect.
