ASUK calls total shutdown
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 23 2026: Categorically saying that celebration of the Indian Republic Day on the soil of Manipur signifies occupation of Manipur by India, the Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak (ASUK) has called a total shutdown all over Manipur from 6 am to 4 pm of January 26, 2026 .

Electricity, water supply, medical services, religious functions and emergency services will not be covered by the total shutdown, said a press release issued by the ASUK Publicity Committee.

Even though January 26 marks the birth of a democratic republic in India after achieving independence from the British Empire, the people of Manipur have been still suffering under alleged colonial rule, it said.

After achieving independence from the British Empire, Manipur too adopted its own Constitution on July 26, 1947 .

Manipur State Assembly was set up the following year after elections were held under the Manipur Constitution.

The first sitting of the Manipur State Assembly was held on October 18, 1948 .

With the establishment of Manipur State Assembly, Manipur became a Constitutional monarchy and all the political powers went to the State Assembly, it said.

It marked the end of monarchy and the dawn of a republic in Manipur, ASUK asserted.

However, the Government of India called the king of Manipur to Shillong.

There the king was kept under house arrest and was forced to sign the Manipur Merger Agreement on September 21, 1949, it alleged.

But the king had no authority to sign the Manipur Merger Agreement as he was only a Constitutional head at that point of time and all the political and administrative powers had been handed over to the Manipur State Assembly, it said.

ASUK said that the responsible Government of Manipur deliberated the Manipur Merger Agreement and resolved not to ratify the agreement.

On the other hand, no plebiscite or referendum was held on the merger of Manipur with India or staying away from India.

Without giving any opportunity to the people to decide their own political future, it was announced on October 15, 1949 that Manipur had been merged into the Indian Union and one Rawal Amar Singh was appointed Chief Commissioner of Manipur, it said.

Subsequently, the Manipur State Assembly was abolished and all the political powers were taken over by Rawal Amar Singh.

Manipur, which existed as a proud sovereign Nation for thousands of years, was suddenly reduced to the humiliating status of Part C State and kept under the control of a Part C State, ASUK said.

It said that this act of the Government of India was a direct insult to the people of Manipur.

After the merger, President's Rule has been imposed 11 times in Manipur including the current one.

In terms of imposition of President's Rule, Manipur is at the top of all Indian States, it said.

The current position of Manipur is even lower than that of the Part C State.

Since its alleged annexation by India in 1949, the situation of Manipur has been only deteriorating and becoming more and more complicated, it said.

Around 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru said, "....these areas (WESEA) have to be considered as something different from the rest of India.

They must not be thought of in the same terms even as the tribal areas in central or west or other parts of India" .

(Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Volume 22, pp 235236), ASUK quoted.

It revealed that the people of Manipur and WESEA were looked upon with suspicion from the very beginning.

The people of India cannot see the people of WESEA as fellow citizens.

"Even today, we remain outsiders", ASUK said.

Prof Sanjib Baruah of Bard College, New York wrote, "The region (WESEA) seems distant from the hearts and minds of many Indians; its lush green landscape evokes the picture of another part of monsoon Asia, and the local people, in the eyes of many, look racially different." (Sanjib Baruah, Durable Disorder Under the Politics of Northeast India, Oxford University Press) .

This racial discrimination will not go away any time soon, it said.

The Meitei-Kuki conflict which broke out on May 3, 2023 is an outcome of India's policy to break apart Manipur and the Government of India has been supporting and assisting the Kukis, it alleged.

Today, the situation of Meiteis is no different from living in concentration camps.

Meiteis will not survive if they do not conjure their united strength and resources, it said.

ASUK said that the Meiteis never see other communities living together in Manipur as enemies.

All the indigenous communities need to join hands and live together in harmony, it said.

The Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 came into force three years before India adopted its constitution.

The Indian Republic was set up on January 26, 1950 after usurping the independence of Manipur, it said. The Republic Day of India is not the Republic Day of Manipur, ASUK asserted.

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