GUWAHATI: In restive Manipur, four Naga villages came under attack on Tuesday, while normal life was disrupted in five Imphal Valley districts during a shutdown called over the demand for implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Working Committee of the Naga organisation Tangkhul Naga Long said several houses were burnt and a pastor, Luithuibou Newmai, sustained grievous bullet injuries in attacks carried out at Makui Pipuram, Lower Tapon, Middle Tapon and Upper Tapon villages in Kangpokpi district.
The committee alleged that some Kuki insurgent groups, which signed the Suspension of Operation agreement with the central government, carried out the attacks. It urged the Nagas to shed their temporal and ideological differences and stand together to protect their land, identity and people.
“The Nagas are closely watching the unprovoked and relentless offences being carried out against us in our land,” the committee said, warning that state and central governments would be held solely responsible the day the situation escalated beyond control.
Meanwhile, the shutdown was called by the Meitei civil society and student-led movement ‘Campaign for Just and Free Delimitation’, demanding the NRC before the census.
Given the prevailing situation arising from the NRC demand, the central government on Monday deferred the census operations. The Manipur High Court had also issued an order directing the deferment of the census exercise until further orders.
However, Imphal Valley-based organisations demanding the NRC are not satisfied. They are seeking an assurance from the Centre on the issue. The United Naga Council, Manipur’s apex Naga organisation, is also demanding that implementation of the NRC precede the census and delimitation exercises.
The Imphal Valley wore a deserted look during the shutdown, with shops, markets and other commercial establishments, as well as educational institutions, remaining closed. Attendance in government offices was thin.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had on Monday appealed to groups and organisations to refrain from calling bandhs, pointing out that such actions would only cause hardship to the common people. He had urged them to continue dialogue.
