National assembly adopts 7 declarations
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 09 2024: A National assembly held today at Manipur University campus to mark the closure of the Manipur Youth League's Long March for National Regeneration adopted seven declarations.

The first declaration says that Meiteis being the majority community would take key roles in resolving all issues besieging Manipur at present and also in creating a new Manipur where all the communities respect each other, the integrity of the State whose building blocks are the identities of each ethnic group is protected and there is uniform development and harmonious co-existence.

The second declaration says: "We would pay special attention to politics and we would practice such politics which would enable us safeguard the Nation and make Manipur a developed and prosperous State.

We would elect only competent candidates and we will never ever again sell our voting rights" .

National assembly adopts 7 declarations

The third declaration says: "In order to maintain demographic balance, efforts would be invested to raise the total population to the required level and check the influx of non-local people.

Marriage to non-local men would not be encouraged but inter-marriage among ethnic communities would be promoted" .

The fourth declaration says: "The State's shattered economic base would be re-built.

Efforts would be made to strengthen the State's productive forces; agricultural lands would be protected, our people would work harder and our fields would be made green all year round.

A healthy work culture would be groomed and the idea of economic nationalism would be propagated to all the people.

Our people would use local products as much as possible and promote local entrepreneurs" .

The fifth declaration says: "The crumbling morality of the society would be reinstated and a prosperous society would be re-established where there is unity, truthfulness, social discipline, good mannerism and free of oppression.

To achieve this, an intensive moral regeneration campaign would be launched" .

The sixth resolution says: "A strong social movement would be launched to save students from the jaws of illicit drugs.

As a part of the movement, plantation of poppy, manufacturing of drugs, sale and consumption of drugs would be banned.

Attempts to turn Manipur into a second Golden Triangle will be opposed.

Consumption of all intoxicating substances including Kheini, Zarda, Talap etc would be stopped" .

The seventh and the last resolution says: "A mass movement would be launched to conserve ecological balance.

Apart from checking deforestation activities, more trees would be planted to conserve nature/forests.

Lakes/wetlands would be conserved and maximum efforts would be invested to check pollution of rivers and lakes.

A clean society where waste materials and garbage are disposed of at proper places would be established.

Earlier, the last leg of the long march was flagged off from Kakwa Lamdaibung at 11 am and it was participated by thousands of people.

From Kakwa, the long march made its way to its final destination, Manipur University campus.

Speaking at the National assembly, Prof (retired) W Nabakumar of Manipur University underscored the urgent need for an economic and political revolution in Manipur.

It is crucial to revive the historically organic ideology of Manipur as well as the State's legacy of peaceful co-existence among the different ethnic groups, he said.

Antonio Francesco Gramsci's ideas of 'War of Position' and 'War of Manoeuvre' must be applied in this movement.

Prof Nabakumar said that one must understand the dynamics and objectives of international geo-politics before launching a revolutionary movement in Manipur.

Retired IAS officer RK Nimai expressed deep concern over the degeneration of Manipuri society in several aspects including the emerging trend of wealthy men winning elections on the strength of money power.

At the moment, some people, masquerading as patriots, have been campaigning for election on the sly.

If the unethical practices of organising grand feasts and offering of money at the time of election are stopped and only competent and sincere candidates are elected by ensuring a level playing field, there will be remarkable changes in several areas including education, RK Nimai said.

Former Editor of Freedom daily RK Ranendrajit said that the Kuki militants have been indulging in a diplomatic recourse to ensure that they can settle in any place of Manipur they wish by keeping Imphal under siege.

Highlighting how Meiteis have been deprived after Manipur was merged into the Indian Union and how Meiteis have been restrained from hitting back at enemies, Ranendrajit decried that the Government of India has been seeing the Meiteis in the wrong light.

He said that the present crisis is a golden opportunity to rectify all the follies and lapses.

DMU School of Humanities Dean Dr Ch Sheelaramani remarked that the Kukis' strategy of keeping away Meiteis from National Highways is aimed at bringing a total downfall of Meitei community's economy.

The inability to open the National Highways is a big failure of the Government of India, she said.

She said that economy and food are the primary determining factors in any protracted war.

Manipur University faculty member Dr Thiyam Bharat said that the Meiteis constituted 59 per cent of the total population of Manipur in 1951.The figure declined to 43 per cent in 2011 .

Subsequent upon this huge demographic change, Meitei community has been marginalised in their own homeland, Dr Bharat said.

In addition to extensive cultivation of poppy in Manipur, many drug lords have been using Manipur as drug routes.

It appears that the Golden Triangle is being shifted to the Manipur-Myanmar border, he said.

As a result, a large number of youth have fallen prey to the many intoxicating drugs.

Keeping all these challenges in mind, Meiteis must face the present crisis, Dr Bharat said.

The National assembly participated by a huge crowd was also addressed by many other CSO leaders, academicians and eminent personalities.