Now Reading: BJP MLA links Manipur village rise to 1990s conflict, ghost villages
-
01
BJP MLA links Manipur village rise to 1990s conflict, ghost villages
BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip has said the increase in the number of villages in Manipur's hill districts is due to displacement during the Naga-Kuki ethnic conflict of 1992-1995 and the alleged creation…
BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip has said the increase in the number of villages in Manipur's hill districts is due to displacement during the Naga-Kuki ethnic conflict of 1992-1995 and the alleged creation of "ghost villages" to siphon off MGNREGS funds. The Saikot MLA made the remarks in social media posts on Friday and Saturday, days after former chief minister N Biren Singh said government records showed 926 unrecognised villages in the state.
Haokip said corrupt officials colluded with those who created ghost villages to draw MGNREGS funds. He also attributed the proliferation of settlements to a traditional Kuki practice of splitting villages into smaller hamlets, often led by sons of tribal chiefs. The Naga-Kuki conflict claimed over 1,000 lives and displaced more than 50,000 people.
In a separate post, Haokip rejected allegations linking sharp population growth in parts of Manipur during the 2001 Census to immigration from Myanmar's Chin state. He called the decadal growth of over 100% in some Naga-dominated sub-divisions a "fraudulent Census exercise" rather than cross-border migration. Manipur shares a 398-km border with Myanmar.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The dispute over unrecognised villages and census figures is central to Manipur's demographic politics, where claims about population shifts fuel ethnic tensions. The 926 unrecognised villages flagged by Biren Singh could affect delimitation of constituencies and allocation of funds under schemes like MGNREGS. Haokip's reference to the 1992-1995 Naga-Kuki conflict, which killed over 1,000 and displaced 50,000, highlights how old displacements still shape land and resource claims. The census controversy from 2001 has never been officially resolved, the next delimitation exercise, expected after the 2026 Census, will likely revive these debates. Watch for the state government's next move on verifying the 926 villages and for any fresh census data on border sub-divisions.
Source: assamtribune.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
