KSDC calls upon Kukis to stay away from I-Day celebration
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, August 12, 2013:
Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) has appealed to all the Kuki people in the North East region of India to 'avoid participation in the Independence Day celebration' on August 15. Spokesperson of KSDC K Khongsai said since the government of India has been ignoring the aspiration of the Kuki people, "we should not bother about the Independence Day celebration".
Meanwhile, K Khongsai said the KSDC 48-hour bandh will begin from midnight of August 13 and even after this 48 hours bandh, "if there is no response from the government side, the Committee will resort to further course of action." On August 5, KSDC leaders rued that they have been resorting to democratic forms of agitation in the past few years but the government has chosen to turn a deaf ear on the matter.
The KSDC leaders then said the Kukis have been demanding the separate statehood since 1960 and had apprised the matter to the then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
"Even after 50 years of our movement, the government of India has not acknowledged our sentiment," the KSDC leaders expressed their regrets.
The KSDC has been demanding from both the state and the Central Governments to start peace parleys with two umbrella Kuki armed groups�Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF)�which are signatories to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) involving both the Central and state Governments.
On July 8, while recalling its movement, the Kuki State Demand Committee(KSDC) had said that it was revived on November 2, 2010 based on the political movement of the Kuki National Assembly(KNA) for creation of Kuki State in the present day Manipur(First memorandum was submitted in 1960 to the then Prime Minister of India Late PT Jawaharlal Nehru).
Before the advent of the British colonialists in the soil of the Kukis,the Kukis governed themselves under chiefs in their territories without outside interference in their affairs.
Since the merged of the Kuki territories with Kangleipak (Manipur) without the consent of the Kukis which added their suffering increases day in and day out, the KSDC had said.
KSDC has been leading the mass movement for separate Kuki State within the Constitution of India as Kukis are denied of their rights for life, security and development and peaceful governance of their affairs in their ancestral land even after India got independence and the attainment of statehood by Manipur.
Another factor has been the denial of Sadar Hills as full-fleged district as it is dominated by the Kukis is tantamount to denial of development of the Kukis.
"The Government failed to address the governance of the tribals under Sixth scheduled which is a constitutional rights; the disparity/negligence of development in Kuki areas; the policy of the Government of alienating and annexation of tribal land through state mechanism; interference of the Government and its machineries in the affaire - de of the Kukis; the Government denied the rights of the tribals in Government employment by alienating the reservation policy; rendering the Hill Area Committee non-functional which is a breach of the privileges' of the tribals; denial of proportionate representation in the state assembly between the tribals and non- tribals.etc etc., are also some other factors that have prompted us to start this movement," the KSDC had stated.
The Kukis in present day Manipur is left with pamper and has no future for political as well as administration, it had lamented.
"The KSDC therefore had led the Kuki people for their political survival leading to mass rally since its inception in 2010 followed by general strikes, public blockade, economic blockade etc.asthe Government had failed to address the vexed Kuki political issue," KSDC had said on July 8 .
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