Advisor urges Yimkhiung and Tikhir unity on Pungro tour

KIPHIRE – Nagaland Advisor S. Kiusumew Yimchunger has told village leaders in Kiphire district’s Pungro sub-division that the Yimkhiung and Tikhir communities are one family, and urged them to settle any differences through dialogue. His visit came less than a month after violence between the two communities left one person dead and dozens of homes burnt.

Kiusumew, who is an MLA and the Advisor for Fire and Emergency Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence, and Relief and Rehabilitation, toured Pokphur village, Kiusam town, Longtsong village and Zaonger village on November 3, according to a press release on the visit seen by Nagaland.News.

Advisor meets Tikhir leaders at Kiusam

He was accompanied by Nungsang, Additional Secretary in the state Home Department, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Pungro, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Pungro, and other officials and staff of the district administration.

At Kiusam town, the Advisor held talks with village councils, village development boards, gaon buras, women’s organisations, youth leaders and tribal leaders of the Tikhir community. Residents of neighbouring villages also gathered to receive the team, the release said.

What the Advisor told Yimkhiung and Tikhir leaders

Speaking to the gathering, Kiusumew said the Yimkhiung and Tikhir had been one family from the start, bound by blood, culture, tradition and a shared history. Preserving the bond between the two “brothers” for future generations was a duty they all shared, he said.

He said no development was possible without peace and unity, and appealed to village leaders to resolve disputes through dialogue, understanding and mutual respect. He asked young people to lead the way on unity and to work together for the development of the area.

He also asked village councils to cooperate fully with the administration and police to keep the peace in the area.

Development pledge for Eastern Nagaland border areas

The Advisor said the state government was committed to developing Nagaland, particularly remote border areas of Eastern Nagaland. He named roads, water supply, healthcare, education and emergency services as areas to be improved. The release did not mention specific projects, funding or timelines.

Background: the October 10 violence in Pungro

The press release on the tour did not refer directly to the recent violence. Two of the villages the Advisor visited, Zaonger and Pokphur, were among those affected by the October 10 clashes between Yimkhiung and Tikhir groups, which broke out during the Tikhir community’s Tsonglak-Nyi festival.

News agency IANS reported at the time that one member of the Tikhir community was killed and another injured in a gunfight at Longtsunger village. About 40 houses were burnt or vandalised at Zaonger and six houses were burnt in Pungro town, the report said. The district magistrate imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS in parts of the sub-division.

The two sides have since given conflicting accounts of what happened, as The Morung Express reported on October 19. On November 3, the same day as the Advisor’s tour, Longtsunger village council revoked the status of three gaon buras it accused of inviting Tikhir volunteers into the village.

Four days after the visit, Yimkhiung and Tikhir representatives met in Dimapur on November 7 and adopted 10 peace resolutions, including new villages for displaced families and an understanding on where each community would settle.