Re-inaugurated Anglo-Kuki War Centenary monolith has no mandate of Kukis: KNF-N, SDFK
Source: The Sangai Express
Kangpokpi, October 18 2020:
Inaugurating the Kuki Rising (1917-1919) monolith via video conference freshly at C Aisan village in Saikul subdivision of Kangpokpi district sparked wide condemnation and opposition from various quarters of the Kuki community.
The non-SoO Kuki militant outfit, Kuki National Front (Nehlun) group and Socialist Democratic Front of Kukiland (SDFK) said in a joint press statement that the Kukis do not accept and acknowledge the new monolith.
It alleged that the unexpected re-erection, re-inscription and re-inauguration of the Kuki's pride and honour, the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary monolith by bulldozing the sentiment of the public happened yesterday via video conference with the support of SoO groups after Chief Minister N Biren Singh and KNO president PS Haokip had an agreement without the mandate of the Kuki people.
The earlier inscriptions on the monolith such as 'Anglo-Kuki War' and 'Ancestral Land and Freedom' were erased and replaced with 'Kuki Rising' and 'Dignity' respectively.
The removal and addition of new inscriptions are not acknowledged and accepted by the Kukis and the KNF-N and SDFK as well.
The re-inauguration ceremony was also held under the protection of KNO/KRA armed cadres, it claimed.
The joint statement also said that the removal of the previous inscription and addition of the new words, the re-erection, and the re-inauguration have sparked wide condemnation and opposition from the Kuki community while adding that KNF-N and SDFK opposed the same and considered the newly re-inaugurated monolith as the monument of KNO president and KNO/KRA chairman.
The two non-SoO Kuki militant groups maintained that the decision of the KNO president to go ahead with the re-erection, re-inscription and re-inauguration of the already inaugurated Anglo-Kuki War Centenary monolith 'without considering' the sentiment of the Kuki people is very unfortunate.
It recalled that the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary commemoration was organized under the aegis of the Celebration Committee and the Kuki Inpi Manipur where the monolith was inaugurated and dedicated by the Pastor with the mandate of the Kuki people in the presence of thousands of Kuki people across the country at C Aisan last year.
The centenary stone was also erected in all Kuki villages with the same inscriptions which symbolizes the people's mandate.
October 17, 2020 will remain an unforgettable day in the history of the Kukis, it added.