Arambai Tenggol flag hoisted on Manipur's Shirui peak, Nagas angry
The Tangkhul Naga community considers the 9,304 ft Shirui peak sacred as many rivers and streams originate from it. The endemic and seasonal Shirui lily (Lilium mackliniae), celebrated through an annual festival organised by Manipur Tourism, derives its name from this peak.
Midway through the Shirui Lily Festival, which was inaugurated by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on May 21, a group of people claiming to be members of the Arambai Tenggol's Cobra Team – Unit 58 put up a 'seven-coloured Meitei flag' on the peak.
The Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS), an apex student body, condemned the hoisting of the flag and said it was a 'deliberate political provocation' and 'an insult' to the identity, culture, and territorial sanctity of Tangkhul Nagas.
'The Shirui Lily Festival is a solemn celebration of our rare endemic flower, our land, and the enduring spirit of the Tangkhul Naga people. To carry out this kind of symbolic aggression in sacred Tangkhul territory is a calculated attempt to disrupt peace and politicise a neutral cultural platform,' the TKS said in a statement.
The organisation said any repetition of such 'reckless and inflammatory' action will not go unchallenged. 'While the Tangkhul people have traditionally welcomed all visitors to the Shirui Lily Festival with open arms, their hospitality must not be mistaken for weakness,' it added.
The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), the apex social body of the Tangkhuls, also slammed the 'utterly disgraceful and despicable attempt by the Arambai Tenggol to tarnish and obfuscate the spirit and meaning of the Shirui Lily Festival for petty and dirty political gains at the wrong place and time'.
'Do you even care to know that the Shirui Lily Festival is a celebration dedicated to the truth of the inexplicable wonders of God's creations? The tiny flower, Shirui lily, blooming on a picturesque hilltop evokes an aura and excitement, requiring us to maintain humanity's dignity,' TNL president Sword Vashum said.
He said the Nagas and Meiteis, brought within the same geographical boundaries by the British rulers in 1891, do not have a common history or heritage. 'Therefore, we should settle for good neighbourliness,' he said.
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