The Hill Tribal Council (HTC), Moreh has issued a clarification regarding claims about border town Moreh, which it said had been made through concocted and misleading narratives from several angles. The Council also urged the state government to refrain from implementing any development plans and policies in Moreh and the hill areas as a whole until a political settlement is made.
According to the Council, Moreh (originally called Mollenphai or Mollen) is within the hill area of post independent Indian state called Manipur.
“Moreh is a civilian inhabited border hill town. So the idea for establishment of a cantonment is absurd. Except for the war-monger Meiteis who have deserted, all Indian communities co-exist peacefully in this cosmopolitan border town,” the Council said in a statement on Friday.
It stated that the trade and business activities which have been crippled by the ethnic clash since May 3 could 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.
“As much as we want development in Moreh, we urge the Government of India to act swift and bring political settlement to the present political impasse in Manipur.”
Ruling out the possibility of resettlement of the Kuki-Zo in Imphal valley who have been slaughtered and their properties looted and destroyed, the Council said that the only solution to the problem now lies in the Union Government to arrange and grant self determination to the Kuki-Zo community, admissible under available provisions of the Constitution of India.
The State Government must refrain from implementing any plans and policies in the name of development in Moreh and the hill areas as a whole untill a political settlement is in place, it said, adding the same is to prevent escalation of the prevailing tense situation and to avoid further misunderstanding among conflicting communities in 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 has been under chieftainship long before the partition of Burma from British India,” it continued.
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, according to the Council.
“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,” it further claimed.
Over the years, border town has seen a cosmopolitan population today, it said, adding that the history of a place or people cannot be manipulated to suit one’s whims and fancies, though.
Article 371C of the constitution of India provides special provision to safeguard the hill areas of Manipur. Accordingly, Autonomous District Councils under Hill Areas administration have been functioning in the hill districts of Manipur and to this date there are three elected Members of District Council in Moreh alone, it said.
Meanwhile, reacting to the claim and proposal made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a parliamentarian representing the Inner Manipur, the Council said: “It reflects either his ignorance about his own state, or it could well be an outburst of a wishful thought.”
, people of Indian origin such as Punjabis, Tamils, Biharis, Bengalese and others came to take shelter in Moreh.){kind=link}