ASUK joins with 12 hours shutdown call
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 23 2023:
Saying that January 26, the Republic Day of India is a day of celebration for India but a day of humiliation for the people of Kangleipak and WESEA, the Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak (ASUK) has called a 12 hour total shutdown all over Manipur from 6 am to 6 pm of January 26 .
A statement issued by the ASUK publicity committee pointed out that Manipur adopted its own Constitution in 1947 before India adopted its Constitution on January 26, 1950 .
Elections were held in Manipur in 1948 under the Manipur State Constitution, 1947 and 53 representatives were elected through adult franchise and the first elected Government was formed.
The first sitting of the Manipur State Assembly was held on October 18, 1948 and Manipur became a Constitutional monarchy.
Being a Constitutional monarchy, the political power was transferred from the king to the people, it said.
Thus Manipur became the first independent country in South East Asia to have a democratically elected Government, the ASUK asserted.
However, Manipur was forcibly merged into the Indian Union on October 15, 1949 after the king who did not have any political power by then was forced to sign the Manipur Merger Agreement on September 21, 1949 under duress, it alleged.
Soon after, the history, culture, economy and politics of Manipur was turned upside down.
The notion that merger with India would bring development in Manipur has been proved wrong, it alleged further.
The ASUK alleged that the ruling elites of India and some traitors of the land have been working relentlessly to distort the history of Manipur/ Kangleipak.
Many scholars have proved that today's Kangleipak/Manipur is not the Mahabharat's Manipur.
The matter should have ended there.
However, one local leader went to an Indian State and challenged the history of Manipur by claiming that Manipur/ Kangleipak and other States of WESEA had been a part of India the days M Mahabharat's Shri Krishna, the ASUK remarked. Again it was written in Union Home Minister;' Amit Shah's speech that today's Manipur is the Manipur of Mahabharat.
Thus Amit Shah was made to make an announcement to this effect recently.
It was nothing but blatant disrespect and an attempt to mislead the people of Manipur, it alleged.
It is an attempt to make the people of Manipur forget that they are Kanglei people and accept the wrong notion thatthey are Indians.
It is an ideological State apparatus aimed at suppressing the Kanglei people for good, it continued.
Even though there have been reports of seizure of drugs almost on a daily basis, no kingpin has been pulled up till date.
It only indicates some strong political powers of both India and Manipur are involved in the drug business, it alleged.
It is rattier frightening that Manipur is becoming a second Golden Triangle.
Many hill ranges have been denuded because of poppy plantation and all major rivers flowing through the Manipur valley are drying up.
The ecological balance has been disturbed drastically, it said.
Widespread use of insecticides, herbicides and other chemicals in poppy plantations and in destroying poppy plantations are posing serious health hazards to all living beings including both mankind and wildlife, the ASUK continued.
If poppy plantation and manufacturing of drugs are not stopped immediately, Manipur will no longer be habitable after some years, it warned.
The socio-economic and political degeneration seen in Manipur since its merger with the Indian Union shows that it is imperative for Manipur to regain its 'Nation State' status of 1948, it asserted.
It added that religious functions, medical services, media and emergency services would not be covered by the total shutdown.
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