GUWAHATI
A Mizoram college students’ physique has condemned the Manipur authorities’s alleged bid to take over the land of the ethnic Zo folks.
Parts of Manipur, particularly the Churachandpur district dominated by the Kuki-Zomi communities, have been burning following an eviction drive to clear protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands of “illegal” settlers.
The drive by the Nongthombam Biren Singh-led BJP authorities is seen as concentrating on the Kuki-Zomi communities akin to the Mizos of Mizoram. They are collectively known as Zo folks.
In an announcement on Sunday, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) condemned the Manipur authorities’s actions in opposition to the ethnic Zo folks, which it mentioned have been “attempts to evict” them in order that the “tribal lands can be declared reserved forest, protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands”.
The MZP additionally took exception to the Manipur authorities demanding an inner-line allow (ILP) from the folks of Mizoram coming into Manipur. Reminding the Manipur Chief Minister that Mizoram by no means calls for ILP from Manipuri folks, it mentioned forcing the Zo folks to amass ILP may result in a discord between the Manipur and Mizoram governments.
An ILP is a short lived journey doc issued to Indian residents, to maneuver right into a protected space. The ILP system is in pressure in 4 States within the northeast— Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.
“The MZP has been and will continue to promote unity among ethnic Zo people because it wants to preserve the brother/sisterhood of the community. Despite this, the Manipur government is attempting to expel our brothers and sisters who are people of the northeast, from their own villages, and we are unable to accept this,” the MZP mentioned.
Asking the Manipur authorities to cease victimising the Zo folks, the MZP warned that it will not be accountable if something occurred to the Manipuri folks in Mizoram.
The Manipur authorities’s drive is reportedly linked to a notion that a big part of the Kuki-Zomi folks has entered the nation illegally from Myanmar.
