Phungyar MLA Leishiyo Keishing of Naga Peoples Front (NPF) is a young legislator who does not mince words. Two times he was returned to the Manipur assembly from a prestigious seat once held by former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing, but denied a place in the government formation. And he is a bit rebellious. In the last term, he was the Chairman of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) of Manipur Legislative assembly and he was at the forefront of the concerted move to alleviate the power of the HAC.
Now, he is raising alarms on the threats posed by the influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar into the state which had outnumbered the indigenous population there, and urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to deport the refugees back to their respective places. Kamjong district within which falls Phungyar is one such constituency where both the Tangkhuls and Kukis settled side by side in harmony, even during the Naga-Kuki clashes. In the recent development, Leishiyo had raised concerns on the continuous influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar since November 2023, stating that the numbers of immigrants in shelter homes at various locations have outnumbered the local residents. They are being provided with basic needs like foodgrains, water supply, power supply, even roofings and other essential commodities.
However, many untoward incidents have been reported where local residents were beaten up over tussles on daily wages earning and domestic issues in which local law enforcing agencies find difficulties to apprehend and control such situations due to understrength of the police personnel posted at the border area. The letter mentioned that there have been numerous incidents of killings and kidnappings of local residents committed by the immigrants, but the culprits could not be apprehended as they abscond and cross the border where neither customary law nor Indian law could be enforced.
The refugee population has surpassed 5,800 individuals and the biometric data for 5,173 persons has been captured under the supervision of district administration. While urging the chief minister to take up urgent measures to find a suitable plan and arrangement to deport the refugees to their respective villages in their country or find a suitable place to shelter them under strict supervision, he also cautioned against granting Indian citizenship to the refugees, citing historical precedents from 1968. History of granting Indian citizenship to immigrants is not repeated thereby the current situation like unrest or crisis be avoided in the future. He further stated to strengthen arm police at the border area to increase.
As we said before, unchecked infiltration of illegal immigrants from across the border is an important issue behind the present conflict. Several pressure groups had come together with a singular focus on migration issues confronting the state. While the United Naga Council and Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) joined forces to express their commitment to fight the issue of illegal migration together, student organisations broadly based in the valley and All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) together came out in demand for National Register of Citizens (NRC) and establishment of a State Population Commission.
After a series of meetings, the conglomeration of valley based organisations the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) and United Naga Council (UNC) decides to join hands against the continuous influx of migrants in the state from neighbouring countries, particularly from Myanmar and other states of India. Considering it a major reason for creating a demographic imbalance in the state and a threat to indigenous population, COCOMI and UNC has demanded the adoption of a resolution to set up the state population commission and updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in respect of the state of Manipur with a fixed cut-off base year to identify illegal immigrants.
Against this backdrop, the coming together of COCOMI and Naga CSOs on the anti-migrants issue became a thorn in the flesh for the Kuki-Chin groups. And then suddenly, the ST demand received a boost in the arm through the HC judgement and it provided a perfect opportunity for re-kindling tribal solidarity.
