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UNC reminds CM Biren to be ‘cautious and be realistic’ on recent remark on land

Mt Koubru
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Be what they are, the Nagas and the Meiteis will never be a problem, UNC proclaimed about the Mount Koubru issue. 

TFM Desk

The United Naga Council (UNC) reminded Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh to be “more cautious and be realistic in his approach and not fall in line with his past predecessors”. UNC made the remark in view of the recent remark by CM Biren that “every land in the state belongs to the government and it has the authority to use those lands for the development and well-being of the people.” 

The statement does not merit the occasion and has no basis with the facts but it can be ill-informed to the present and future generations in a state like Manipur, UNC asserted in a statement. 

On the other hand, UNC appreciated the steps taken by the government under the initiatives of CM Biren Singh, on the occasion of the 72nd Van Mahotsav Celebrations and carrying out a mass tree plantation program at Mongjol village in Sadar Hills area, under Senapati District, for the preservation of forest and to strengthen the ecological balance and ecosystem in the area. 

“We all must frankly admit that what belongs to the Meiteis is Meiteis’ and what belongs to the Nagas is Nagas’ as these two indigenous communities had co-existed as immediate neighbours from time immemorial and together landed under British India and forcibly the state of Manipur came into being with the formation of Independent India and Burma in 1948”. 

For which fall out, UNC noted “we all have our own movement and struggles for self-determination till date”. It is the people who came first and not the state. The state does not own land until it first owns its people. Therefore, the state government must be mindful of what they are doing with any new developments and any new creations, it added. 

With regard to the Mount Koubru range imbroglio, the UNC said it is equally concerned with the protection and preservation of environmental and ecological balance. 

“It will be good if none become overly obsessive on the ownership of the area since it has its own history. The more they assert their rights of ownership over the area the more they contradict their roots and this they must know and any amount of historical rhetoric and distortion is never going to be a solution”. 

Be what they are, the Nagas and the Meiteis will never be a problem, UNC proclaimed. 

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