IPA censors Prof Amar, Viva books in Manipur
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 12 2022: Indigenous People's Alliance (IPA), Manipur has banned professor Amar Yumnam of Manipur University from participating in any social platform as also sale and use of any book published by New Delhi based Viva Books Private Limited in Manipur.

According to a statement of IPA, professor Amar and assistant professor of IGNOU Dr Sadananda Sahu must hold responsibility for distortion of Manipur's history and mention of Manipur's total geographical area as only 700 square mile in Brigadier Sushil Kumar Sharma's PhD thesis entitled 'Socio-economic roots of insurgency in North East India'.

Both Amar and Dr Sadananda were research supervisors to Brigadier Sharma's PhD thesis and both of them have been banned from certain activities till rectifying their mistakes in the thesis, IPA said in the statement.

IPA also announced ban on sale and use of Sushil Kumar Sharma's book based on his PhD thesis entitled 'The complexity called Manipur: Roots, perceptions and reality' forwarded by justice WA Shishak and published by Viva Books Private Limited, New Delhi.

It further announced ban on sale and use of any book published by Viva Books Private Limited in Manipur till rectifying mistakes in both Sushil Kumar Sharma's PhD thesis and the book he penned based on the same thesis.

According to the IPA statement, professor Amar Yumnam of MU economics department had issued a written clarification about the PhD thesis and claimed that Sushil Kumar Sharma's thesis did not mention any point which could distort history of Manipur including mention of state's geographical area to only around 700 square mile in the thesis.

However, the thesis on its page No 58 clearly reads 'The total area, which the Manipur Merger Agreement covered, was only territory of 700 square miles or 26,500 Pan/hectares, and not even a single inch of hill areas'.

Chapter 3.3.7 on page No 58 of the same thesis also reads 'No merger of the tribal chiefs and their territories'.

Both these two lines were also found in Sushil Kumar Sharma's book.

The researcher being an outsider would have lacked knowledge about the history of Manipur but professor Amar Yumnam being a local research supervisor should have looked into the lines clearly and investigated thoroughly, IPA said, adding that professor Amar Yumnam should hold the responsibility for either removal or rectification of the mistake.

Till removal or rectification of the mistake, professor Amar will be banned from participating in any public platform including discussion session, IPA said and appealed to people to remain vigilant from hired agents like Amar Yumnam who are trying to destroy culture, tradition and identity of the people of Manipur.

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