India Government: We Know Your Policy
- MSAD (Manipur Student’s Association Delhi) -

New Delhi, 8 May 2010

Manipur Student's Association Delhi strongly condemned the Indian State sponsored brutal assault by Manipur Police on the protesters at Mao Gate on 6 May 2010 that had killed three students, Mr Loshua, Mr. Chakho and Mr. Lokho; and infliction of casualty upon several others including women, children and senior citizens. The Indian State (including its puppet Manipur Government) is fully responsible for this unfortunate incident. MSAD called upon the concerned government to conduct an immediate judicial inquiry into the incident. The government should extend all the necessary supports and medical assistance to those who have suffered casualty in the incident.

The Mao Gate firing incident was a continued process of the overall reign of terror hitherto confined in the valley districts of Manipur unleashed by the Ibobi government. The Ibobi regime had been sponsoring killing of civilians in the name of maintaining law and order. Government of India has been encouraging such terror activities by awarding gallantry awards to several Manipur police personnel, e.g. many of them were decorated with gallantry awards by the Indian state on 15th August 2009 for killing people. What has become alarming is that the rampant repressions upon political assertion had left the people of Manipur with no space for peaceful democratic dialogue and consensus. There is no space for civil liberties in Manipur under India installed Ibobi regime in Manipur.

Regarding Muivah's visit to his birth place we would like to assert that everyone has the right to live and freely roam in his / her homeland where his / her umbilical cord is being buried. Several selfless individuals had laid down their lives for the sake of their people and country. MSAD considers that those who have stood for democratic political cause to defend their people and country from external invasion and subjugation system are not criminals. Leaders and cadres of NSCN-IM, militant organizations of the Kuki-Chin- Mizo communities that are under suspension of operation with the Manipur government and other India banned underground organizations such as the UNLF, PREPAK, RPF, KYKL, KCP and PULF should not be treated as criminals and they must have the right to visit their people and homeland on humanitarian ground without any restriction. Many of them have missed their homes, relatives, and cultural rights for several years. Let them visit and roam freely and interact with the people for open dialogue and solution to the decades old political armed-conflict prevailing in Manipur. We would encourage everyone to welcome the rebels to visit their respective homes. Let them enjoy what belong to them.

Territorial integrity can never be defended by military barricades without the support of the people who inhabit the territory. We believe in voluntary unionism of communities where each community is a stakeholder in the collective polity, economy, culture and other common platforms. The Indian state had terribly failed in this aspect in its Manipur policy. It had fully relied on its military power to defend an Indian empire by suppressing the right of democracy of the subjugated people of Manipur. Military can only invade and create a colony, it cannot create a nation. The same logic applies to Manipur. The territory of Manipur can never exist in the present form for any longer period if it is an extended colony of any chauvinistic policy. The territorial integrity of Manipur can only be protected by the unity of the communities. The Manipur police that is supposed to provide with security to the ordinary citizens can never be the vanguard of any superimposed territorial integrity unacceptable to all. Any section of the Manipur population who would seek for armed intervention to defend the territorial integrity of Manipur from dissenting politics is merely imitating the brutal mechanistic approach adopted by the Indian state while attempting to defend territory of the Indian empire. Manipur Students' Association Delhi strongly opposes heavy deployment of armed personnel in and around the market area of the Mao Gate.

The Indian armed personnel including the Manipur Police Commandoes can never be a substitute for the growth of amicable political dialogue and consensus among the people of Manipur. The state as we believe is the instrument of oppression of the ruling class irrespective of any community background. The police acted as the backbone in defending the state. The terrorist regime under Ibobi government is anti-people. Ibobi is yet to adequately address series of fake encounters. We still remember how Sanjit and Rabina were killed in broad day light and how the issue was diverted by Ibobi. An adamant and stubborn Ibobi will commit all forms of treachery and misbehavior to retain power and loot the resource of the people. Several villages are being displaced and large tracks of agricultural lands are being destroyed in the name of developmental projects. If any person or any section of the population would eulogies Ibobi and the MPCs as angels of integrity, it would encourage Ibobi to carry on with his puppetry under the subjugating, oppressive and exploitative overarching Indian rulers. Let us fight against it together.

Emotional integrity among communities cannot be achieved by restricting to organizing of intercommunity cultural festival and hosting intercommunity grand feast alone. Emotional integrity has to be corresponded with sincere effort towards mutual understanding and co operation. It has to be gradually materialized along with gradual and consistent efforts towards selfless creation of democratic platform for transparent dialogue and consensus. We appeal to all the civil societies in Manipur to follow the democratic principle of recognizing each other's rights and primordial attachment with respectively imagine territoriality. At the moment of misery and material scarcity any section of the population may not indulge in generating artificial famine by the way of imposing economic blockade along the lifelines of the population. We appeal to the Naga Students' Federation, the ANSAM, the UCM and any other organization to lift embargo (economic blockade) imposed upon the ordinary citizens on the pretext of political bargaining.

Let us fight for peace together!

Apunbana Yaiphare
Press statement released and circulated by Manipur Students' Association Delhi,