UNLF observes 55th Anniversary
Annual statement of Central Committee elaborates on the various threats to the indigenous people of WESEA
Source: IT News

Imphal, November 24 2019: Proscribed group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) Manipur today observed its 55th Annivsary today.

In connection with the observance the Central Committee of the proscribed group in its annual statement elaborated on the various threats to the identity of the indigenous people of WESEA region.

The statement by the central committee is produce below -
"The history of the Manipur nation which is withstanding and facing the challenges of time and facing all the external forces with the collective effort of our forefathers is witnessed by the documents and treaties of our neigbouring countries as well as of the British.

Very unfortunately, today the fate of our composite history and identity of all our indigenous ethnics having an inseparable and organic relationship is falling apart to the verge of ultimate obliteration due to the consistent conspiracy of Indian Imperialist's Divide and Rule Policy which is fragmenting our collectives throughout the long 70 years since the very day Manipur was annexed in 1949 .

The most potent and ultimate colonial policy of the Imperialist India is to racially assimilate all the distinct ethnos of our region which are already kept suppressed politically, economically and socio-culturally, to the mainland India which is quite different from us in every aspects.

Thus due to these 70 years of hegemonic colonial rule of India, our people are degraded, dehumanized losing all it's valour and values of our society so more and more people have become slavish and dependent.

Hence As people have become more and more dependent and couldn't think that we cannot survive independently and even taking pride as Indian, it makes easier for the racial assimilation process without any hindrance.

Hinduisation policy of India - Since the Sangha Parivar of VHP, RSS and BJP of the extreme Hindu right wing with their allies came to power in Delhi, they began exercising imposition of their "Hindutva" ideology all over India threatening the existence of smaller groups and minorities which have distinctive language, culture, religion, and identities from the Hindu heartlands.

"As such, shedding aside the Mantra of "Unity in Diversity" used to trick and to coerce those different 565 princely states subjugating into the India Nation making, today the majority Hindu population is taking strong calculative steps to impose a uniform civil code to their advantage.

"This policy of the majority Hindus and Hindi heartlands have become a battleground for the life and death of small and minority populations having distinctive language, origin, culture and identities.

a.Oneness of India (One country, one people, one culture...) -
Indian rulers obstinacy is very obvious in trying to subjugate all the distinct socio-cultural, racial and religious identities of the states and populations which formed the Indian nation initially so that India become one homogeneous nation in the "Hindutva" ideology .

The hegemonistic policy of India is well manifested in the relentless effort to impose Hindi language all over India under the pretext of being national language; likewise an orchestrated socio-cultural and religious hegemony over our people for a long time, Thus, the main objective of this One-ness of India is to assimilate/obliterate the smaller distinct nationalities so that India becomes one nation, one people, one culture so and so.

b.Policy to Uproot Indigenous people ( Demographic invasion) - Compatriots, it is already discussed, that it is our utmost necessity and indispensible duty that we have to continue our liberation struggle to resist the Indian Imperialists which are colonizing and trying to assimilate our land and people.

But all the while, India is engineering a relentless, demographic invasion of our region with their excess population.

This is a double-edge step, first, to suppress our people's liberation struggle with a population war and secondly, to resolve the Manipur-India national contradiction once and for all with racial assimilation of our indigenes.

It is a common occurance that, these outsiders are settling and encroaching upon our lands and workplaces; and cohabiting with our indigenous people, therby eroding our socio-cultural and racial identities.

Though we have so many mass movements and struggles to safeguard our land, our culture and our national identity, but yet to achieve any, as we are being colonized and repressed; because the struggle for our indigenous people's survival and existence is opposite, and contradictory to the Imperialist India's policy to assimilate us.

Above this, although Manipur and other indigenous peoples of WESEA could resist the Indian govt.effort to table "Citizen's Amendment Bill 2016" to give citizenship and settlements to the illegal immigrants having the same racial and religious affinity with mainland Indians; from the neighbouring countries in our region; this time again the GoI is pushing to re-introduce "CAB 2019" against the wishes of our people.

This is to achieve their goal of racial assimilation of our indigenous people to the vast population of mainland India.

This clearly proves that within Indian system the indigenous peoples of the region with their small populations can not safeguard their ethnic identities and survive.

This is the same life and death situation faced by all the indigenous peoples of WESEA.

Therefore, for the indigenous peoples of our region to seek their ethno-exclusive solutions within India's colonial framework is impossible and is just like putting our 'common future' into oblivion.

c.The Situation of Jammu & Kashmir -
The recent forced bifurcation of the state of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories namely Kashmir and Ladakh by abrogating Article 370 and Article 35(A) of Indian Constitution thereby avolishing the Jammu and Kashmir Parliament which have a separate Constitution is an extreme and rude action of India.

Lakhs of Indian occupation forces were deployed in the already heavily militarised Kashmir, put the people in gunpoints, keeping hundreds of their leaders behind bars including women and shutting down media and internet as well.

This is India's total disregard of democracy and a clear case of human right violation.

On the other hand, India is violating the terms of the Agreement signed between India and and J&K at the time of merger of two nations.

This is total violation of International Protocol and shows India's obstinacy.

This is nothing but violation of the civil and political rights of the Kashmiri people.

This act of GoI is condemned by the right thinking people all over the world and more and more support of the struggle of Kashmiri people is in the offing.

Internal Contradictions -
Today the temporary issues of difference and petty contradictions prevailing among our ethnos have risen to an ugly antagonistic level due to self centred and ethno-exclusive aspirations which gives a manuevouring space to the Divide and Rule policy of the enemy.

This internal contradiction amongst our indigenous people is a stumbling block in shaping a united struggle against our common enemy and such, all our struggles and efforts went in vain and fall into enemy India's ultimate trap.

Compatriots, for WESEA as well as for Manipur also, we have witnessed that the ethno-exclusive liberation struggles of a few of our ethnic groups in the past could gain nothing; resulting to ultimate surrender to enemy India.

How the Mizo struggle for an independent Mizoram, rose to a gladdening heights at those times did ended in a stupor after compromising with India; and the present condition of the 70 years old Naga struggle fragmenting into number of groups which are already fallen into India's peace-talk traps denouncing sovereignty and independence for which so many daring nagas have become patriots, are stark examples.

Therefore, UNLF firmly believe that all our oppressed, indigenous people of WESEA should unite with a common strategy and fight a united struggle against our common enemy India so that we gain in our collective political and military strength and our struggle is sure to fructify.

So the collective of indigenous people who are suffering the alien subjugation of India should, instead of fighting for independence of separate communities, should struggle together for our collective freedom in order to defeat the Indian Colonial power.

This very struggle is necessitated by the objective conditions of the true realities of the region.

In order to achieve victory we need to build up the Regional Unity Thesis collectively, all of us in WESEA should altogether have a collective struggle on the path of self-determination and understanding to enable us to envision and join in the United Struggle much more effectively for our common goal of self-determination.

The policy of seeking solutions on ethnic lines for ethno-exclusive aspirations is a death trap used by India and hence UNLF re-asserts that this will be great blunder on the part of our indigenous struggles to proceed along parochial ethnic lines.

Framework Agreement and Integrity of Manipur -
But unfortunately, the struggles of some groups with ethno-exclusive outlook after bearing no success against a superior enemy like India u-turned and fell into "peace-talks" and "SoO" and this creates more internal conflicts between the co-existing ethnos.

These groups are often used as a tool by Indian Colonialist with divisive and reactionary ideas along communal lines to create more inter-ethnic clashes amongst them so that the unified liberation struggle of our region against them cannot take shape.

Here UNLF wants to share our vision that, it has been the human history that the nations and peoples could live with dignity and freedom, overcoming difficulties and dangers in their history, and nations and countries are thus established in their territories.

Many attempts had been made in the past to destroy Manipur and enslave its' peoples by outside forces but the peoples of Manipur had been resilient and fought for their freedom and dignity.

The indigenous peoples of this land had been interdependent, with common origins, common ancestry, and they shared this region and habitat.

There may be petty squabbles amongst them, but they had lived as inseparable communities so far.

Manipur is a multi-ethnic and pluralistic nation.

India has utilized the divide and rule policy and helped develop the idea of ethnic exclusivism to make the ethnics think and act for their own self alone.

This small and harmful ideology was encouraged to be practiced by the NSCN (IM) so as to increase the animosity and rivalry among the ethnics, which must be resist by the collective will of all indigenous peoples.

The relationship between the territories and peoples and the inner philosophy behind territorial integrity must be understood by everybody as inseparable, for which people are not afraid to die, and they rise for the territorial integrity of the land.

Therefore, the territorial integrity of a land must be understood as the relationship between the territory and the population, that the land and people are linked with an inseparable connection, that nature's environment, the air and water, the mountains, the rivers, the lakes and forests were all organically related with the human beings, and it is also linked up with the system of law and governance or the polity of the land.

There is an organic relationship between the environment and the people, and this relationship in its pristine undisturbed self is its territorial integrity.

So when the GoI wants to settle their negotiations with NSCN (IM), they should not disturb the relationship of Manipur territory and its people, and the relationship between the indigenous communities and their close organic polity.

The UNLF and the revolutionary groups of Manipur and the people of Manipur shall resist with all their might attempts to disturb the integrity of the state.

Scheduel Tribe demand of Meiteis under Indian Constitution -
The contradiction between hills and plain is advantageously used by GoI as a weapon of their Divide and Rule in suppressing the liberation struggle of Manipur; and the different social strata of ST, SC, OBC in the Indian Constitution is a well used wedge to divide among our collective society.

Within the present India political system, there is no way to steamroll this social divide.

That means, the peaceful co-existence and co-development of our indigenous brethren is impossible as their colonial and divisive policies have shown.

Therefore, if we cannot achieve our right to self-determination, by uprooting clutch of India's colonial Divide and Rule, and to assert our own co-existence and co-development, the future of Manipuri people is going to oblivion.

At this crucial juncture, some among the Meitei populations, who have been taking major role in the nation building process of Manipuri nation since the time immemorial with their courage and determination; have become weak-hearted and started to demand to include Meiteis in the ST list of Indian Constitution.

Their contention that without the Indian Constitutional support meiteis cannot survive is a direct fallout from being colonized for a longtime and hence the ever-dependency syndrome which corroded the national character of the meiteis who were brave and defiant.

This demand will be a dangerous blunder and is just like erasing the long historical journey of the sovereign independent Manipuri Kingdom which withstood the ravages of time as well as will negate the historical legacy of the Meiteis in taking major role in the Manipuri nation building.

Above this, the tribal peoples, who are already ST are behemently opposing this demand.

Therefore, UNLF considers this demand of some Meitei groups to include in the ST list as a dangerous blunder as this demand will widen the chasm between Meiteis and tribals to the benefit of colonisers.

The UNLF Central Committee also share thoughts and happy messages to the indigenous peoples of Manipur - that as long as we remain under Indian Colonial Subjugation, safeguarding our racial identity, our dignified existence and prosperity is impossible.

Therefore, to be able to achieve Our National Independence, with Autonomy at all levels, and to create a democratic system in tune with our native genius, a respect for identities and traditions, and respectful co-existence of all communities, and to prosper together in equality, justice and freedom shall be our motto and let us all work together towards this end" .

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