Against 48 hours general strike : Thadou Students
Date :: 25th September, 2018 , Imphal

The Thadou Students’ Association, General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ) is strongly against the 48 hours general strike called by valley-based joint student associations - AMSU, MSF, KSA, SUK, DESAM and AIMS - from midnight of 26th to midnight of 28t September, 2018 and that the general strike will not be supported in the hill areas of Manipur.

The ongoing agitation that has miserably impaired the career of thousands of students was not of a collective decision from the very beginning. It was started by a section of students and teachers for their own interest. Manipur University community should consist of all students and teachers belonging to different communities but an agitation sans the tribal students cannot and should not be portrayed as of MU community.

The revolt as per the allegations of MUSU and MUTA was for removal of Prof. AP Pandey as the Vice-Chancellor of Manipur University for various reasons. However, the agitation did not stop even after the institution of a fact finding committee and then an independent inquiry committee as demanded by the agitators.

And most recently as the agitation did not stop, the President of India, while acknowledging the sentiments of the agitators and the problems due to the prolonged impasse in Manipur University, suspended the Vice-Chancellor Prof AP Pandey with immediate effect on 17th September, 2018. In spite of this, a mob agitation is still carried on in the name of MUSU, MUTA, MUSA and MUWWA.

During the ugly incident in the university campus on 20th September, the mob allegedly threatened the Pro VC and Registrar (i/c) with the same fate meted out to Prof. Islamuddin, who was murdered inside the university in May, 2009 and this kind of alarming situation definitely requires law enforcement agencies to step in and take effective measures.

Meanwhile, as per a complaint by the Pro VC, a case was registered at Singjamei Police Station and the law had taken its own course. Accordingly, the police had taken action and students and teachers involved who were involved the mobs were arrested and taken into judicial custody. A violent agitation that threatened or attempted on the lives of unharmful people cannot be justified.

It is now clear that the agitation from the beginning has nothing to do with the allegations made against Prof AP Pandey, but a concerted ploy by some people to achieve a vested interest and to control and rule the university unlawfully. There also appears to be a deeper political agenda to discredit and destabilise the government.

Should the agitation persist and the university continue to be made dysfunctional, TSA would like to offer a peaceful environment and for the university to shifted to a location in hill area where students can focus on their education.

Prof AP Pandey or any other persons may come and go, but the harm to the university and students and the seed of mistrust between hill and valley created by some vested interests have been done. This will be hard to reverse.

We would like to earnestly appeal to the valley-based agitating student bodies to cease their agitation and not to go ahead with the general strike. We would also like to urge them to accept the current VC in-charge in the interest of student community or take their grievances to court without disturbing the whole university community.

Shri Kamsanglen Singsit
Secretary, Information & Publicity
Thadou Students' Association (TSA)
General Headquarters : Imphal, Manipur