ASUK boycotts R-Day, imposes shutdown
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, January 23 2022: While announcing boycott of India's Republic Day celebration in Manipur, the proscribed Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak (ASUK) has imposed a total shutdown on January 26 and appealed to people to support the shutdown.

The shutdown to be effective from 6am to 6pm of January 26, however, will be exempted for movement relating to medical and allied services, religious ceremonies and unavoidable programmes, an ASUK statement said.

According to the statement issued by its publicity committee convener S Mangal, January 26, 2022 will be celebrated as Republic Day throughout India including the country's capital New Delhi and Kangleipak/Manipur.

The day will be a joyous one for people of mainland India but it will be second black day for people of Kangleipak/Manipur after the first black day, October 15.The Constitution of India came into effect from January 26, 1950 but India annexed already independent Kangleipak/Manipur in 1949 and reduced it to a Part-C state, which was below the status of a Union Territory.

In August, 2019 the Indian Parliament passed the 'The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019' by amending Article 370 of Indian Constitution to disintegrate Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories.

India's act was condemned at both the national and international level.

The manner in which Kangleipak/Manipur was forcibly merged into India and reduced to a Part-C state violates international law and more condemnable than what happened to Jammu & Kashmir in 2019.Hence, people of Kangleipak/Manipur as well as WESEA region should not take part in India's Republic Day celebration at all and people of the region should instead mourn the day with fasting.

In 73 years of Manipur becoming part of India, the status of the once sovereign nation has not only been degraded but also dishonoured self.

The once beautiful culture of people of the land is now being used a means to appease VIPs coming from mainland India while dance and indigenous martial arts which were held in high esteem until recently are now being performed on roadsides to welcome VIPs.

Kamatapur, Tripura and Kangleipak/Manipur were annexed by the British respectively in 1773, 1809 and 1891 and became protectorate states of the British and merged to India only in 1949.This history is fact and unchangeable but it was very unfortunate that people of WESEA region remained quiet when leaders of the region try to mix the story of Shri Krishna of Mahabharata epic with the beautiful history of the region, the ASUK statement added.

Comment