Let us not fall into the trap of Mark Haokip and his accomplices

Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by SPN Editor

Let us not become a donkey, why should we act as misinformed, misguided, and remote-controlled by some leaders who are using Mark Haokip as their weapon to divide Manipur.

In the last 5 years, hills are on the right track. We have been tasting the fruits of good governance in the last few years. Ever since BJP came to power, hills are developed. Of all the hill districts, our Churachandpur is getting several projects. Of course, Churachandpur is the second largest town in Manipur. Within the next five years, it will emerge as the most happening district in the State.

The reason for such a vast development is mainly due to peace and unity among the people. We will soon be having a state medical college, the second college after JNIMS. We would be soon getting piped drinking water from Khuga Dam. Our Behiang will be developed into the second gateway to Myanmar, after Moreh town. We will be having the best roads, connecting the Jiribam railhead to Mizoram along the border. Besides, several tourism projects are also in the pipeline.

CM N Biren Singh is the people CM and a messiah for the hill people, particularly for Churachandpur. He has inaugurated 30 projects for our district. N Biren was instrumental in bringing peace to the district in 2017.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured that the Biren government will end the Kuki militancy problem within 5 years. We are also fed up with militancy in our districts. We want a peaceful future now.

For this, we are waiting for N Biren Singh to solve it as promised by Amit Shah.  No Kuki youth would have to carry arms anymore, but people like Mark Haokip are instigating our youths to become anti-national, ruining the ongoing developments in the district.

We must remember what Amit Shah said during the election campaign here, “Have confidence in us, we will talk to all Kuki organisations, and a new life will be given to all Kuki youths to enable them to join the development of the nation, of the hills and of Manipur under PM Narendra Modi.”

Could this be the reason for instigating our people, for some people won’t like our district to be peaceful and developed? Mark has been portraying CM Biren as anti-tribal throughout his tweets and Facebook post. Mark Thangmang Haokip claimed himself as the self-styled President of the International Human Rights Association which was mainly formed to address the distress of a few Chin tribes in Myanmar.

Mark Haokip is just a keyboard warrior. I have never seen him working to defend the rights of my brothers and sisters of Churachandpur. His tweets are full of lies and actively engaged in dividing Manipur. If he is sincere enough to work for the welfare of my communities, he should work in Manipur, instead of hiding in some remote place in Delhi.

Mark Haokip is spreading false propaganda that Meetei will take away our lands and rights. My question is will a Meetei family living in the heart of Imphal city come down to settle in the Henglep village? Let us use some common sense, they won’t snatch our lands, rights, and ownership.

He has been using the term ancestral lands of tribals. What about we living in several places in and around Imphal valley? What are the agenda of Mark Haokip and his accomplices in interfering with the Koubru and Thangting (Thangjing) hills?

Some of my brothers and sisters are blindly following him without checking the authenticity of his narrative, and fall into the trap, thereby creating a  big gap between Kuki and Indigenous people.

We are not refugees, but Mark Haokip’s involvement and interference in our State issue have made us refugees. His forefathers might be living in Myanmar, but our forefathers are living in Manipur since the 19th Century when the Manipur king saved us from the invading Lushai tribes.

We have been defending the southern part of Manipur since the 1830s. We are part of Manipur and will remain as Manipur.

The writer is an Imphal-based freelance writer. Contact thangboiszou@gmail.com