Panel discussion picks holes in Manipur Ki Baat
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 25 2025: Taking strong exception to the factual errors, false narratives and attempts to misrepresent the Manipur crisis made by certain scholars and intellectuals at Manipur Ki Baat held at New Delhi on February 18, 2025, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) hosted a "Live Panel Discussion: A Rebuttal to Manipur Ki Baat" at Classic Hotel here.

Apart from pointing out the factual errors and false narratives presented by intellectuals based outside the State at the Manipur Ki Baat, six scholars and activists gave detailed accounts of the Manipur crisis during the panel discussion moderated by UNI Imphal Bureau chief Ningthoukhongjam Satyajit.

The panel discussion was streamed live on COCOMI Youtube Channel which was launched today by its convenor Khuraijam Athouba.

Panel discussion picks holes in Manipur Ki Baat

Responding to the statements made by Agnostos Theose who hosted Manipur Ki Baat, Khuraijam Athouba said that many people from different parts of India have been taking a keen interest in the Manipur crisis and trying to misrepresent the crisis with narratives of their choice.

Some of them have even been campaigning intensively to misrepresent the crisis deliberately, he said.

Even as a former Army Chief and some retired officers have been denying the incident of drone bombing at Koutruk and Senjam Chirang by Kukis, the NIA has filed a report in Court of over 40 bombs being dropped from drones by Kukis, Athouba said.

Now it is clear that the statements made by the former Army Chief and the retired army officers without doing any investigation were fabricated to favour a particular side.

It is also clear that some influential people including the Army Chief and the retired Army officers were involved in false, misleading information campaigns, the COCOMI convenor asserted.

Instead of bringing out the facts and working to contain the violence, these people, acting in a very partisan manner, have been escalating the violence and projecting the innocent people of Manipur in the wrong light, he said.

At the Manipur Ki Baat held at New Delhi, many eminent personalities including former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai and former Manipur High Court Chief Justice Siddharth Mridul presented detailed and precise accounts of the Manipur crisis.

But some speakers made many incorrect, erroneous and false statements.

They even projected the COCOMI which has been struggling to protect the integrity of Manipur and its territorial boundary in the wrong light, Athouba said.

Such false narratives and misrepresentation necessitated today's rebuttal, he added.

He said that video footage of different incidents witnessed in Manipur would be uploaded in the YouTube channel launched today so that the international community and international media know the truth.

Responding to statements made by retired Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan, retired IAS officer RK Nimai remarked that not all said by Shokin Chauhan were wrong.

His observation that New Delhi does not know or tries to know Manipur is quite true, Nimai remarked.

However, General Shokin's claim that the Kuki population did not grow much was dangerously wrong.

Some Kuki villages witnessed a growth rate of 170 per cent between 2001 and 2011, RK Nimai asserted.

He also underscored the growing need to carry out the census exercise based on Aadhaar.

While indigenous communities of Manipur support NRC, Kukis have been fiercely opposing it.

It only reveals that the influx of illegal Kuki immigrants has not yet stopped.

General Shokin must know these facts, he asserted.

In 1946, there were only seven villages in Gwaltabi Khamenlok Reserved Forest.

But today there are 52 villages.

While the number of Naga village rose from one to two, Kom village from one to three, the number of Kuki villages jumped from four to 46, RK Nimai said.

He remarked that many of the so-called experts on Manipur who were invited to Manipur Ki Baat have limited knowledge of Manipur.

Associate Prof Dr Homen Thangjam of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University said that GK Pillai's presentation at Manipur Ki Baat was quite impressive except for certain errors which can portray the Meitei community in the wrong light.

GK Pillai was quite correct when he said that the Manipur crisis should be resolved by the people of Manipur.

He also made it clear that the Manipur crisis is not a problem of Manipur alone but a National security issue of India.

He also made a very correct observation that the Manipur crisis was caused by the State Government's crackdown on drugs and poppy plantation, Dr Homen noted.

However, GK Pillai strayed asunder from the truth when he claimed that around 18,000 Meitei Christians were converted to Hinduism at gunpoint.

This wrong statement has all the potential to portray the Meitei community in a very bad light before the international community, Dr Homen said.

Former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai is a man who has deep empathy for Manipur.

At a discourse held at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Analysis, JNU old campus, New Delhi in 2012-13, GK Pillai categorically stated that India ought to tender an apology to the people of Manipur.

This statement enraged the people of India at that time, Dr Homen remarked.

GK Pillai said that the insurgency problem of Manipur had its roots in the forced annexation of former independent kingdom Manipur, considering its strategic importance.

Like Japan tendered an apology to Korea after the end of war between the two countries, there will be peace in Manipur if India tenders an apology to Manipur, particularly Meiteis, GK Pillai once said, according to Homen Thangjam.

Associate Professor Dr Noni Arambam of DMU presented a review of the statements made by retired Chief Justice Siddharth Mridul while historian Dr Malem Ningthouja presented a counterpoint to Advocate Prashant Bushan.

Former MSAD president Miraj Shah Korimayum gave a rebuttal to retired ADG, BSF Sanjiv Krishan Sood.