Manipur integrity martyrs fondly remembered on 24th anniversary
'June 18 uprising was not directed against any community'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 18 2025: The 18 patriots who sacrificed their lives for the integrity of Manipur in June 2001 were fondly remembered on the 24th Great June Uprising, Unity Day today.

As in the previous years, people paid homage and rich tributes to all the 18 martyrs at their Kekrupat Memorial today.

The 24th Great June Uprising, Unity Day jointly organised by AMUCO and UCM started with requiems at 5 am.

This was followed by ritualistic prayers of different communities and a general salute by Thang-Ta artistes.

A large number of people belonging to different communities paid floral tributes to all the martyrs, and the solemn ceremony of paying floral tributes to the martyrs went on till late afternoon.

AMUCO advisor Ito Tongbram said that the spontaneous mass movement of June 18, 2001 was not directed at any community or ethnic group even though the Government of India made all efforts to communalize the mass movement.

Manipur existed as an independent Nation for thousands of years.

After the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union, a sustained insurgency movement erupted with the political goal of restoring Manipur's independence.

Being an insurgency affected State, the Government of India devised several policies to suppress the insurgents as well as the common people, Ito Tongbram said.

The Government of India's policies have the capacity to spark off, escalate and de-escalate socio-political unrest in the State, he said.

The current crisis which erupted on May 3, 2023 has subsided to some extent but the Government of India has the capability to escalate it any time.

Creating distrust and conflicts among the communities who have been otherwise living together peacefully is a policy of the Government of India, he alleged.

Portraying the Meiteis as an enemy of several communities is a policy of the Government of India, he said.

The violent clash among the communities of Manipur and mass displacement are all testimonies of the success of the Government of India's policy, he said.

The AMUCO advisor then called upon all the communities to plug all communication gaps, stand united and defeat the divisive policies of India.

The Naga-Kuki clash, the ongoing Meitei-Kuki animosity are all machinations of the Government of India, he said.

"We must know who our real enemy is", he continued.

It would be a gross injustice if all the cattle grazing in a grazing field must be flogged just because some of them have strayed into paddy fields", Ito added.

AMUCO president and observation committee chairman Ph Nando Luwang recalled that the Government of India issued a notification on May 19, 2025 for identification of all illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh within a month.

Pointing out that the deadline set by the notification is June 19, Nando asked how many Kuki illegal immigrants have been identified in Manipur.

The Government of India has no intention to either open the National Highways or work out a solution to the protracted crisis, he said.

The Government of India has been continuously seizing weapons from the village volunteers in the valley who took up arms to protect Manipur but the huge stockpile in the possession of illegal Kuki immigrants who have been waging a sustained war to break apart has not been seized.

Thus, the Government of India has been fanning people's resentment and anger, Nando said.

The Government of India made an overt attempt to escalate the crisis by forcing an MST bus carrying journalists to Shirui Lily Festival 2025 to conceal or erase the word "Manipur" painted on its front.

He said that the June 18 anniversary never fails to ignite a strong sense of nationalism among the younger generations and inspire them to always stand resolute for the integrity of Manipur.

He called upon all the indigenous communities to ponder over how to protect Manipur collectively.

UCM president and observation committee vice chairman YK Dhiren called upon all the people to identify those elements who have been working to disintegrate Manipur in the name of serving the Nation.

Many people are emerging in Manipur who think and work only for their own community.

The elements have been creating many untoward and unwanted issues in the State, Dhiren said.

The June 18 movement did not have any communal tinge, it was a mass movement driven by the collective desire to protect the integrity of Manipur, he said.

The UCM president also appealed to all the people to deliberate on how to strengthen the idea of a united Manipur.

If people are carried away by emotion and sentiments, there will be more problems and issues.

Manipur does not belong to a single community exclusively, he asserted.

Observation committee convenor Shanta Nahakpam recalled how a massive, spontaneous protest erupted in Manipur on June 18, 2001 after the Bangkok Declaration signed between the Government of India and NSCN(IM) incorporated the term "without territorial limits".

Manipur has been a victim of divide and rule policy for decades.

Even today, several forces have been conspiring to fragment Manipur.

It is a common and paramount responsibility for all the communities to face these challenges collectively, Shanta said.

He called upon all the people to face the crackdown on village volunteers, CSOs and the challenges posed by illegal immigrants.

He also called upon all the communities to adopt a collective resolution to protect the integrity of Manipur from all inimical forces.

Kanglamei president Y Leirik Leima appealed to all the people to follow the footsteps of those brave Manipuri forefathers and protect Manipur from all challenges.

She appealed to all indigenous communities to come together and work collectively to protect the integrity of Manipur and safeguard its territorial boundary.

Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba Manipur president Soraisam Memcha pointed out that Kuki narcoterrorists have been scheming constantly to disintegrate Manipur, and the large scale aggression launched since May 3, 2023 is an unmistakable manifestation of this scheme.

AMKIL president Lourembam Nganbi said that the Government of India has been continuously conspiring to disintegrate Manipur with a motive to destroy the very spirit of Manipuri people.

Following the June 18 mass movement which resulted in the death of around 23 people, the then CSOs and the people came together and took on the might of the Government of India, said UCM consultative member Khomdram Ratan.

But today even after the death of hundreds of people in the course of the violent crisis which erupted on May 3, 2023, the CSOs are still unable to come and work together, he lamented.

A blood donation camp was organised at Kekrupat on the occasion of the 24th Great June Uprising, Unity Day.

Commemorating the same event, similar blood donation camps were also organised at JNIMS and RIMS blood banks.

Family members of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the integrity of Manipur on June 18, 2001 were also honoured at the event.

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