Many more condemn, demand apology from Chief Minister
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 31 2018:
Taking strong exception to the clarification which attempted to vindicate the Chief Minister's statement made at Madhavpur Fair on March 27 which is known to everyone as totally false, the All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU) has asked Chief Minister N Biren to tender an apology to the people of Manipur.
The Chief Minister made the statement that the North East region has been a part of India since the time of Lord Krishna with an intention to Hinduise the whole of India in line with the ideology of RSS, said a press release issued by AMSU information and publicity secretary Roshan Golmei.
Condemning the same statement in the strongest term, AMSU pointed out that Manipur was an independent kingdom before it was merged into the Indian Union in 1949.The Chief Minister's statement that Manipur has been a part of India since the time of Lord Krishna was a deliberate distortion of history with a vested interest to please his political bosses, AMSU alleged.
Kangleipak/Manipur has its own separate history and it can be never be incorporated within the Hindu mythology of Bharat.
The clarification that "Bharat could not be united due to political divisions but today we can unite together following the emergence of godlike Narendra Modi", reflected that some people have been Hinduised more than ever, it asserted.
Hinduisation of Manipur and linking Manipur with Hindu mythology is not acceptable.
The statement made by the Chief Minister like he is totally ignorant of his own identity poses a serious threat to the future of Manipur, it said.
Saying that no other leaders of the State had in the past made such an outrageous statement, AMSU asserted that it would not tolerate any attempt to impose RSS ideology.
If the Chief Minister is bold enough, he should have the courage to tender an apology to the masses, it added.
Indigenous Students' Coordinating Committee/ISCC Manipur (a joint body of AIMS and DESAM) has also strongly condemned the claims made by the Chief Minister at the Madhavpur Fair on March 27.A press release issued by the association mentioned that the attempt to propagate Hindutva policy at a time when the State is not even free of the impact of Nehruvian movement, will not be taken lightly by ISCC.
It mentioned that ISCC views the theme of the fair 'A celebration of Rukamaniji's emotal journey from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat with Lord Krishna' as an attempt to get consent for hegemonial conquest of the North East region, including Manipur.
These fairs along with all the black money, yoga movement, -Aadhaar, demonetisation and GST incidents, are all attempts by the Central Government, which is slowly taking the image of a neoliberalism and totalitarian party for hegemonial conquest, it alleged.
It further claimed that the incident is an attempt to win over the intellectuals of the State in the process of Hindu Rastra cultural hegemony.
ISCC stressed on the importance of the University and the colleges of the State to give proper responses to the recent development and added that the joint body views the CM's statement as an attempt to eradicate the historical beliefs and traditions of the indigenous people and usher in a pan India Hindutva belief system.
ISCC also appealed to the leaders who have been elected by the people to work for the betterment of the society and refrain from taking part in the changing political atmosphere of the country and making statements/claims which will hurt the sentiments and beliefs of the people.
National Identity Protection Council (NIPCO), South East Asia Cultural Organisation (SEACO), United Peoples' Front (UPF) Manipur and Apokpa Marup 1930 have also condemned the statement of the CM.