GUWAHATI, Dec 16 ? While the statements made by the Karbis and their organisations state of the aggressive activities of the Kukis as the basic reason for the Kuki-Karbi clashes in Karbi Anglong District of the State, the city unit of the Kuki Students? Union blames the anti-talk faction of the United People?s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) for the present situation.
The body of the Kuki students however, made a fervent appeal to the Kuki and Karbi militant outfits to shun violence. It also made an appeal to the conscientious people of the district and the State as well, to strive for restoring peace and normalcy in the trouble-torn district. The city unit of the Kuki Students? Union (KSU) alleged that the ongoing ethnic cleansing drive of the anti-talk UPDS for shattering the age-old tradition of peace and amity between the Kukis and the Karbis.
The Karbi militant outfit has been issuing threats and many innocent people have been killed, wounded and rendered homeless, besides, Kuki villages have also been destroyed by the Karbi militants of the anti-talk faction, the KSU said. To make the matter worse, the environment agency of the Government has asked the Kukis to stop jhum cultivation citing the threat it poses to environment, without making any alternative arrangement for livelihood of theKukis.
Moreover, the hills of Singhasan and Kumbamon have been proposed to be declared as reserved areas by the Government, which will lead to the uprooting of the Kuki villages, the KSU unit said. The Kukis depend solely on ginger and jhum cultivation for their livelihood. Only a few of the hundreds of Kuki villages scattered in the district, have so far been recognised by the government. The Kuki villages have no school, healthcare facilities, electricity, water supply and other communication facility and have been witness to no developmental activities, the KSU unit said.
In the meantime, the anti-talk faction of the UPDS has started colleting ?taxes? on the sale of ginger and the Kukis are now exposed to all sorts of exploitation, the Kuki students? body said. The Kukis are the inhabitants of Karbi Anglong since time immemorial, contrary to the claims made by the UPDS faction and their allies, said the Kuki students? body.
The UPDS and their allies are branding the Kukis as foreigners simply because of the fact that the latter do not have a district of their own. But history tells a quite different story with its depiction of the anti-British Kuki Rebellion of 1917-1919 and the fact that the Kukis were the ardent supporters of the Inidan National Army (INA) led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Many of the Kukis served under the INA.The anti-British imperialism stance of the Kukis is a well-recognised fact, the Kuki students? body said.
Under such a situation, the Government should come forward with the steps like providing security to the Kukis living in the urban areas and the villages of Karbi Anglong and towards the immediate solution of the Kukis? demand for a regional council, the Kuki students? body said and made a fervent appeal to the militant outfits Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and the UPDS anti-talk faction to shun violence considering the greater interest of the common people of the district and the state as well.