Six student bodies of Manipur comprising MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK and AIMS and another student organisation on Wednesday urged the student community of the state and the people to not participate in the upcoming Republic Day celebrations, but to hoist black flags on the day.
A joint release expressed concern over the disunity and animosity brewing among the various communities in the state triggered by the demand of separate homeland by the Kukis. Such a mindset of creating a separate homeland is archaic and has faced crushing defeats in history, it stated.
It highlighted the damage and sufferings inflicted by the ongoing violence. It condemned the alleged failure of the centre and its security forces to prevent the unabated terror attacks by the kuki militants and suspected whether a proxy war is carried out in the state.
The prevailing conflict is not communal but an attempt to break the state’s territorial integrity and annihilate the indigenous people of the state, it stated. It stressed the need for the people to act now and carve out effective strategies to counter their attacks. It asserted that the war waged by the Kuki narco terrorists is as a crime against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing.
It lamented that thousand students have been displaced due to the conflict, whilst many innocent lives have been killed and several have sacrificed their lives. It asserted that there is no reason to hold republic day celebrations and reiterated its appeal to the people to not take part and hoist black flags as a mark of solidarity to those killed in the violence.
The student bodies also reiterated their stand to protect the state’s territorial integrity, all the while decrying India’s geo-political game plan, drug menace in the state and attempt to form settler colonies in name of separate administration.
