MIYC points accusing finger at India
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 16 2024: The Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC) has accused the Government of India of scheming to "divide" Manipur on ethnic lines by invoking Article 3 of the Constitution.

In a two page statement signed by its coordinator MC Meetei, the Youth Centre alleged that the Government of India's persistent plan to invoke Article 3 of the Constitution to alter the boundaries of Manipur along ethnic lines is a direct violation of both Indian and international legal frameworks.

"Manipur, having been annexed through controversial and coercive circumstances in 1949, does not fall under the same legal category as other Indian States.

Therefore, Article 3 is not applicable to Manipur's territorial boundaries," the Youth Centre contended.

Stressing on the 'inviolability' of the territorial integrity of Manipur, the MIYC maintained that Manipur which existed as an independent entity prior to its "controversial" merger with the Union of India in 1949 had its boundaries fixed and those boundaries remain inviolable under international law.

It said that the principle of Uti Possidetis Juris was automatically applied to Manipur upon India's independence from British rule in 1947 .

The principle of Uti Possidetis Juris which is universally recognised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and applied in numerous international border disputes, establishes that the territorial boundaries of a State at the time of its independence must be preserved, the MIYC maintained.

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