Committee demands State to take clear stand
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 30 2019: The State Level Gaan Ngai Celebration Committee (SLGNCC) has declared that organising the State level Gaan Ngai festival should be handed over to the followers of the indigenous religion, rather then other organisations who no longer follow the said religion.

The committee also declared that followers of the indigenous religions will not tolerate celebrating the festival under organisations who are not followers and demanded the State Government to make a clear stand and declare the true authority for organising the festival.

Speaking to media persons at Chingmeirong Kabui Khul today, general secretary of Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak Phom (TRCP) Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Chaoba Kamson said that SLGNCC had also filed a case to the High Court in 2015 to settle the issues concerning the organisation of the festival.

He claimed that the High Court had ruled that an expert committee be formed to set up a body of members from different organisations involved in organising the festival.

Later, the expert committee recommended that Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak be given the authority to organise the festival.

However, contrary to the directions of the High Court, the State Government directed at a retd IAS officer should be appointed as the Chairman of the organising committee, which is not required in organising a festival, he claimed.

Chaoba said that Gaan Ngai was declared as a restricted holiday on 1976 by the then Government led by RK Dorendro.

Later, in December of 1997, under the leadership of W Nipamacha, the festival was declared a holiday, he narrated adding that it was later declared as a general holiday in 1998 and as a public holiday the same year.

He continued that in 2002, a Cabinet decision removed the festival from public holidays but it was again declared a holiday on November 11, 2002 after the indigenous community protested against the decision of the State Government.

From 2012 till 2017, Zeliangrong Union Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, also organised the festival drawing funds from the Government but the SLGNCC also organised the same from their own financial source.

Later under the present Government, SLGNCC started organising the festival from last year, he added.

On the other hand, the president of SLGNCC, Kamei Kumar said that a Cabinet memorandum of December 19, 1997 stated that Gaan Ngai is a festival performed by the followers of Kabui indigenous religion, Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak and Heraka Cults.

He also said that the State Government, on December 27, 1997, declared January 10 as a general holiday on the account of the festival which clearly shows that the festival was started by the followers of the indigenous religion.

SLGNCC was formed in 2006 and it is also published in the Manipur Gazette, he added.

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