KSDC to join hands with Bodoland proponents
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network

Imphal, August 21 2013: Leaders of the Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) and the leaders of 'Bodoland' will start their joint indefinite hunger strike from August 22 and for which the Kuki leaders have left for Assam's Kokrajhar district.

According to KSDC information secretary George Guite, the KSDC team led by its chairman Hejang Haokip and its secretary K Gangte have reached Kokrajhar today.

Meanwhile, the KSDC has slammed the Independence Day speech of Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and termed it as 'provocative and unconstitutional' .

Ibobi Singh had rejected the demands for an 'Alternative Arrangement' for the Nagas in Manipur and a 'separate State' for the Kukis in the State and said these are 'not achievable.' The Manipur Chief Minister had also re-affirmed to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur saying any bid to split Mani-pur will be a 'futile effort' .

Zalengam The Kuki State :: Pix - TSE

Reacting to this today, the Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) termed it as 'the provocative and unconstitutional statement' of the Chief Minister of Manipur, which is without substance and, in fact, is a violation of the Constitution of India.

The State Government should concentrate on development of its people, rather than clamour over issues not within its ambit.

It will be wise not to refer to the history of Manipur before the advent of the British colonialists in India, in particular about Manipur, the Kuki body said.

According to a KSDC's statement, Manipur was a tiny landlocked kingdom comprising the valley surrounded by hills inhabited mostly by Kukis.

The KSDC said it never demands the land of others, rather they demand recognition of Kuki ancestral lands, to be accorded Kuki statehood, within the Constitution of India under Article 3 .

"Creation of new State is a central list, for which the State has no say.

The KSDC never demand full-fledged status for Sadar Hills District.

However, denying the rights of the people for development for such a long time exposes the lackadaisical attitude of the State Government, who claims commitment for the development of the hills.

The statement of the Chief Minister has no valid base; it is hogwash to camouflage the state Government's inability to develop the hills, particularly the Kukis areas.

Since the Signing of Suspension of Operation (SoO) with Kuki undergrounds, peace returned in the hills, while development has been kept at bay," the Kuki State Demand Committee said.

It then rued that the Kukis have no future in Manipur.

Their life and property could not be protected.

The Government was a mute spectator to the 1990s massacre and the mass raping of our women in 2000s, the KSDC stated.

"The KSDC stand for Kuki State is not an article that can be exchanged; it represents the legitimate rights of the Kukis for a dignified future.

It will be a wise step on the part of the Government of Manipur to establish good relations with the Kukis, rather than engage in propaganda against the legitimate demand for Kuki State.

The KSDC and Kuki people want continuation of cordial relations that had existed between the Kings of Manipur and the Kuki Chiefs, both in good and bad times.

The KSDC will never and ever compromise for anything less than a Kuki state.The Kuki State Demand Committee is committed to its stand for Kuki Statehood," the KSDC affirmed today.