The Kuki CSO Working Committee (WCKCSOs)-Ukhrul finds it rather tedious to once again read the Tangkhul Naga Long’s (TNL) latest communiqué-another predictable exercise in selective conscience, self-righteousness, Kuki militant obsessed and narcissistic posturing.
It is indeed curious that the TNL now invokes “freedom of movement” with such passion, having remained conspicuously silent while the Kuki-Zo people were subjected to months of selective economic blockade by its own people at Wunghon, Sokvao, and Ramva. Apparently, constitutional rights become sacred only when inconvenience arrives at one’s own doorstep.
The TNL’s attempt to recast a protest against governmental inaction as an assault on Tangkhul rights is nothing more than a calculated diversion. The issue has never been the Tangkhuls. With due respect, the Tangkhuls are not so central to the Kuki-Zo struggle as to become the object of our agitation. The issue has always been-and continues to be-the Government’s failure to end the selective denial of essential commodities to the Kuki-Zo people by certain groups of Meiteis and Tangkhuls.
Equally audacious is the TNL’s attempt to pronounce upon the legitimacy of the Kuki-Zo people’s Indianness. The
Tangkhul Naga Long is neither a constitutional authority nor a court of law. It would do well to refrain from conferring or denying citizenship through press communiqués.
Its statement is further littered with sensational allegations presented as fact, yet unsupported by a shred of credible evidence. Such rhetoric may serve propaganda, but it does not serve truth. Serious allegations demand serious proof.
As for the TNL’s claim of “absolute rights” over NH-202, constitutional rights are not private inheritances, nor are National Highways the exclusive preserve of any one community. At this rate, the TNL may one day lay claim to the moon, the sun, or even hell as its ancestral homeland-but the highways there, too, would remain public property, not TNL’s private domain.
The TNL’s objection to humanitarian passage for government agencies is profoundly ironic. The Kuki-Zo people recognise the role of constitutional institutions and therefore facilitate essential government functions even during agitation. The Tangkhuls, however, has earned greater notoriety for obstructing lawful governance-blocking security forces’ convoys, vandalising official vehicles, interfering with lawful custody, and resisting legitimate security operations. Constitutionalism is a curious banner to wave after standing in its way in every possible manner.
The irony is complete. Those who found no voice when others were deprived now seek to lecture the world on humanity, constitutionalism, and freedom of movement. A community that views itself as morally or politically superior to others should perhaps be the last to sermonise on humanity.
Selective silence has little moral authority to preach universal rights.
Issued By:
Department of Information and Media
WCKCSOs-Ukhrul
