CSOs urge Governor to restore popular Govt
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 20 2025: As many as 16 civil society organisations have urged Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to restore a popular democratic Government in Manipur at the earliest, and take up concrete measures to ensure peace, security and territorial integrity of Manipur.

The CSOs have urged the Governor to recommend to the President of India immediate installation of a popular democratic Government in Manipur.

The people of Manipur need an elected leadership to navigate through the current crisis rather than prolonged Central rule, the CSOs asserted in a memorandum submitted to the Governor.

Highlighting the urgent need for peace, security and resettlement of internally displaced persons, the CSOs appealed to the Governor to take proactive steps toward peace negotiations.

The memorandum appealed to the Governor to ensure safe and dignified resettlement of IDPs at their native places, facilitate security measures to restore confidence among affected communities and strengthen governance at the grassroots level by engaging civil society and community leaders.

Failure to address these urgent issues could lead to further destabilisation of Manipur, which would be detrimental to the entire North East region, it said.

Drawing attention to the Manipur Merger Agreement 1949, the CSOs urged Ajay Kumar Bhalla to advise the President of India on the inviolability of Manipur's territorial integrity.

Under the international legal doctrine of Uti Possidetis Juris, former colonies and princely States retain their pre-colonial territorial boundaries unless altered by a legal referendum.

Therefore, Article 3 of the Indian Constitution cannot be applied to alter Manipur's territorial boundaries, as it did not Constitutionally belong to India at the time of the enactment of the Indian Constitution.

Any attempt to reshape Manipur's territorial boundaries would be a strike against history, a wound upon its soul�an act of aggression that defies the tenets of international law and shatters India's own pledge to territorial sovereignty, it said.

"We implore you to uphold Manipur's territorial integrity and ensure that no political move is made to alter its boundaries under any pretext", read the memorandum.

It further appealed to the Governor to take steps to promote communal harmony and social security through structured cultural exchange programmes.

The memorandum was signed by All India Tanzeem-E Insaaf (AITI), All Manipur Democratic Students' Organisation (AMDSO), All Manipur Meitei Pangal Clubs' Organisation (AMMPACO), Apunba Awonba Manipur Amagidamak (AAMA), Committee of Peaceful Coexistence, Manipur (CPCM), Committee on Relief & Rehabilitation (CRR), Federal Students' Organisation Kangleipak (FESOK), Federation of Indigenous People's Democratic Movement (FIDM), Imagi Meira (IM), Kanglei People Against Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances (Kanglei Panas), Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC), Meetei Meitei Tribe Union (MMTU), Nupi Union For Peace and Integrity (NUPI), United Meitei Pangal Committee (UMPC), Yelhoumee Phurup (YP) and Youth Collective Manipur (YCM) .

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