Cor Com calls shutdown to protest merger-II
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, October 11 2021:
When looked collectively at the Articles of the Constitution, the locus of power was not at the hand of the king and the then king Bodhchandra informed the same to the then Assam Governor Prakash through a letter, the CorCom said, while recalling various Articles of Manipur Constitution which handed executive authority to the Council of Ministers and the king was powerless and could not take personal decision on the status of Manipur or transfer of administration of Manipur state.
Nevertheless, king Bodhchandra was surrounded by Indian Army at Shillong from September 17 to 21,1949 and made him a prisoner by Assam Governor Prakash to sign on already prepared merger agreement document in a very undemocratic manner and without the consent of the people on September 21, 1949 .
Manipur was then declared as part of Indian Union on October 15, 1949 thereby reducing the once sovereign nation in Asia having long history with reign of successive kings to the level of a district under Indian dominion.
Articles 49, 51 and 52 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), 1969 say that no treaty signed between two nations in violation of principle of international law as mentioned in UN Charter would be valid if signed in treacherous manner or forcibly.
The forcible act committed by Dominion of Government of India on king Bodhchandra to ink on merger agreement was in violation of Articles 51 and 52 of VCLT, 1969 .
India's annexation of Manipur in 1949 was in violation of Article 2 (4) of UN Charter and UN General Assembly Resolution No 2625 of 1970 and its state practices.
People of Manipur and revolutionary groups have been protesting India's annexation of Manipur by launching various movements but Indian Occupational Army have been using repressive measures to contain these movements, the CorCom said.
The people of Manipur during the Manipur People's Democratic Convention held from October 28 to 29, 1993 resolved that Manipur's merger into Indian Union was annexation and merger agreement had no legal validity.
Apart from this, national seminar on human rights held on December 8 and 9, 1994 had also concluded that Manipur merger agreement had no legal validity.
All the above cited historical facts clearly reveal that Manipur became a protectorate of British Empire after the defeat in Anglo-Manipuri War 1891 but regained sovereign independent status since the implementation of Indian Independence Act, 1947 .
However, India annexed Manipur in 1949 through colonial trait inherited from the British and there is no point to prove that Manipur was part of India or Manipur had relation India since the early period.
People of Manipur opposed the annexation from the time of signing the legally invalid merger agreement to the present day and revolutionary struggle is being waged since then to regain Manipur's lost sovereign status, the CorCom statement said and appealed to people to endorse the 'National Black Day' on October 15 .
(Concluded) .