IMPHAL, June 26: Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has raised alarm over what he describes as a serious and potentially deliberate alteration in the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972, alleging that the discrepancy could have far-reaching administrative and political consequences for governance in the state’s hill areas.

In a letter addressed to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Wednesday, Singh highlighted a critical variation between the version of the 1972 Order published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary and the version adopted in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

At the heart of Singh’s allegation lies a critical difference in the phrasing of Clause 9 in the Second Schedule under Scheduled Matters. The Gazette of India Extraordinary, which contains the official order passed by Parliament, uses the phrase: “The appointment of succession of Chiefs or Headman.” However, the version published in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business by the Manipur Legislative Assembly states: “The appointment or succession of Chief or Headman.”

“This seemingly minor linguistic alteration constitutes a significant distortion with profound administrative and political implications. By substituting the word “of” with “or,” the scope of the provision is broadened to potentially allow new appointments of chiefs or headmen, rather than merely governing traditional succession practices,” Singh wrote in his letter to the Governor.

Singh warned that the misinterpreted provision may have facilitated the unchecked proliferation of new villages and appointments of chiefs in the hill areas, raising concerns over land ownership disputes, ethnic settlement patterns, and political imbalance. He called on the Governor to initiate a comprehensive audit to review the number of villages declared and new chiefs or headmen appointed under the modified provision and an independent investigation to determine when and under whose authority the altered wording was introduced.

“This issue touches upon the very foundation of legal governance in the hill areas and must be addressed with transparency, urgency, and accountability,” Singh emphasized.