Imphal/Silchar: Identifying the root cause of the Manipur Conflict, the president of the Barak-Manipur Friendship Association, Biswadeep Gupta stated that it is the NRC implementation process in Assam could be the main reason that sparked the conspiracy against the Nation by some people who could lose their Indian citizenship as well as people entering Indian soil cannot become a citizen through illegal means.
Gupta stated these facts while delivering his keynote address at the Peace Convention held at Silchar on Saturday at Rajiv Bhawan. The convention was organised by the Knowledge Resource Centre Foundation with the title “Manipur Conflict: Consequence for NE India and Nations’.
Gupta explained that he experienced the Manipur Conflict in May 2023, as he is a journalist serving in Manipur and for the last sixteen months has seen, spoken to and understood multiple perspectives which has made him dig down deep into the root cause.
He explained that as of now people know the reasons for Manipur’s ethnic conflict are ST demand by Meitei-the central government narrative as stated by Amit Shah in his solo press conference in Imphal; eviction drive from reserved forest area; poppy cultivation- the state government’s narrative, and finally the illegal immigration first stated by the chief minister N. Biren Singh in his Independence Day speech in 2023.
But Biswadeep explained that the root cause lies in the process of NRC, which being a citizen of Assam has faced. He explained that NRC is about legacy data identifying your family tree and justifying that one’s forefathers were there in India and not about whether one has studied in India or has a voter card or Aadhar card. NRC is completely a different process and holding only a few identity cards cannot make anyone a citizen of India.
Gupta questions if is it not obvious that if illegal immigration is happening through Manipur’s porous borders, there must be many who are already in India and serving in government, and businesses and are part of the population whose forefathers were not Indian and they can face a consequence that would identify them as a non-citizen? “It is a fact that illegal immigration is taking place through Manipur borders and people are facing deportation.”
Gupta infers that it is not that the Manipur Conflict sparked into such a deep-rooted conflict in a year or months but it was the process of NRC if implemented in Manipur people whose family legacy does not go past a few decades will face deportation.
The chaos and conflict are created to stop any possibility of implementation of NRC in Manipur and the conflict is supported by the huge financial backing of the drug economy which is again funding the ability to have sophisticated weapons by the illegal groups who are ready to face the military might of the Indian Army.
Gupta stated that it is now up to the government to intervene at the earliest and implement the NRC process in Manipur and the rest of India and the process would itself bring in a peaceful environment as those who will not participate in the NRC process will by default become a non-citizen of India.
He also demanded that if the NRC process in Manipur and India is not started then the Government of India should compensate the people of Assam. “Why should the Government of India subject one group of citizens to something process which was troublesome and leaves other groups of people free and allows illegal immigration to continue whereas genuine citizens of the country have committed suicide in the name of NRC?”
He explained the process of CAA and stated that under CAA, the Christians of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan can become a citizens of India but Myanmarese Christians cannot become Indian citizens. From this data also he questioned that the Manipur conflict is not a recent development but is hatched a long time back looking at the NRC implementation exercise Assam undertook.
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