Idea for establishment of Moreh a "cantonment" is absurd, says Hill Tribal Council

Taking a dig at the representation made to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, about Moreh town by the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency MP, RK Ranjan, recently, the Hill Tribal Council has said that the claim and proposal made by the Imphal valley representative reflected to either his ignorance about his own state or, it could well be an outburst of a wistful thought.

"Moreh is a civilian inhabited border hill town. So the idea for establishment of a cantonment is absurd. Except for the war-monger Meitei who have deserted, all Indian communities co-exist peacefully in this cosmopolitan border town," HTC asserted in a statement issued on Thursday.

The Hill Tribal Council, Moreh, has made a clarification on the claims and confusion which have been attempted about Moreh border town through concocted and misleading narratives from several angles and also to voice the resolute stand of the people concerned.

"As always, Moreh (originally called Mollenphai or Mollen) is within the hill area of post independent Indian state called Manipur. Being the indigenous first settler and owner of the land, it was through the consent and acknowledgement of the then Chief of Sibong-Sutpong village that the border town, now called Moreh was established and inhabited and have been under chieftainship long before the partition of Burma from British India," HTC said.

With the passage of time after India's independence and following the Burmese Government programme to drive out foreigners from Burma, people of Indian origin such as Punjabis, Tamils, Biharis, Bengalese and others came to take shelter in Moreh, which was then a thinly populated village on the Indian side, it stated.

"Our compassionate forefathers, the original settlers, were too happy to accommodate people in distress and wished to co-exist as a gesture of love and understanding," the Council said, adding that since then and today, we see a cosmopolitan population in this border town of Moreh. "The history of a place or people cannot be manipulated to suit one's whims and fancies", it added.

HTC also mentioned that Article 371C of the Constitution of India provides special provision to safeguard the hill areas of Manipur. As per which, Autonomous District Councils under Hill area administration have been functioning in the hill districts of Manipur and to this date there are three elected Member of District Council in Moreh alone.

The Trade and Business which have been crippled following the ethnic clash since May 3 can be revived once the Meira Paibis backed by radical Meitei elements who have been blockading and creating havoc in the highways are dealt with effectively as per law, it said.

"As much as we want development in Moreh, we want and urge the Government of India to act swifter and bring political settlement to the present political impasse in Manipur."

The tribal council further said that as there is no longer a possibility for resettlement of the Kuki-Zo in Imphal valley, after having been slaughtered and properties looted and destroyed, the only solution to the problem now lies in the Union Government to arrange and grant self-determination for the Kuki-Zo people, admissible under available provisions of the Constitution of India.

It stressed that in order to prevent escalation of the prevailing tense situation and to avoid creating of further misunderstanding among conflicting communities in Manipur, the state Government must refrain from trying to implement plans and policies in the name of development in Moreh and the hill areas as a whole until a political settlement is in place.