Parvin Sultana
Northeast, a region which continues to
spin stories of alienation and exclusion, was brought under British Empire only
in 1826 under the Treaty of Yandaboo that ended the Anglo-Burmese war. And
after independence it became a part of India. The accession of the region continues
to be contested as being unjust. Manipuris feel their king was forced to sign
the Instrument of Accession under duress as he was not allowed to discuss it
with his Royal Advisors. On similar lines the Nagas feel that they were
defeated by the British not India as there was no such entity as India before
independence. Hence after the British left, the Nagas should have been left
free instead of being passed over to India.