Manipur Merger Agreement null and void: RPF-II
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 25 2025:
Contd from previous issue
After Manipur's annexation by Bharat, there has been little to no progress in terms of development or the fulfilment of even basic human rights for its people.
Instead of ensuring prosperity and protection for the indigenous population, Bharat has allowed an influx of immigrants from other regions thereby posing an existential threat to the indigenous people, the RPF acting president's statement continued.
Furthermore, numerous draconian laws have been enacted to facilitate unchecked exploitation by Bharat's forces and its alleged colonial regime, it said.
Delhi has been actively undermining Manipur's economy to make the region dependent on it for survival.
Today, time has given its judgement that those who have been misled or diverted away from the society of Manipur are the ones who support the alleged colonialist Bharat and its followers, MM Ngouba asserted.
"The suffering we endure today stems directly from their relentless efforts to forcibly integrate Manipur into Bharat and impose Indianization upon its people", he said.
Instead of embracing the dream of sharing common prosperity with the rest of the world, the people of Manipur have endured the nightmare of continuous alleged colonial oppression for the past 76 years, read the acting president's statement.
Realizing the urgent necessity for a pathway to alleviate the suffering of the people, many have started raising slogans such as "we should defend our own nation, we should decide our own fate" and "unity is strength, unite", it said.
Manipur has no shortages of organizations that have stepped up for the people.
Among them, some have played pivotal roles in successful and honourable movements.
Forming new organizations, collaborating, overcoming challenges and uniting as a collective are not new to them, nor are they incapable of doing so.
The challenge lies not in uniting but in maintaining unity with shared objectives and goals that are acceptable to everyone, it said.
"Our approach to executing tasks and strategies on achieving our objectives must be aligned, and even if internal issues or challenges arise, we need to have pre-planned solutions to handle them.
"Without such resolutions in place, we may encounter significant obstacles and inconveniences.
For example, when defending our villages, individuals and organizations came together as one, sharing the same purpose and giving their best efforts without hesitation", the statement continued.
However, once the defence ended, divisions emerged where some resorted to vandalizing Government properties and staging public protests out of frustration with the Government's inaction, while others focused on protecting the assets of politicians and Government authorities.
Another example is that the objectives and goals of some organizations fail to align with the people's desires or demands.
Additionally, there are ambiguities in people's demands too.
Moreover, infiltration of some individuals and organizations who have fallen victim to the deceit and threats of the alleged colonial regime, is undermining the goals of the movement.
All these are the main factors contributing to the failure to achieve unity, or a lack of trust in collective efforts, it said.
"Unity can safeguard our identity and integrity which will bolster our courage and elevate our National honour in a historical context.
It is a worthy and valuable legacy that can be passed down to our future generations.
It's not that our people don't collaborate, there are many movements where we work together, which is also a form of unity" .
"Considering the dynamics of our environment, this demonstrates our ability to adapt, which is a positive sign.
However, we must align in ideals, goals, actions, and principles", read the statement.
Saying that the strength of unity lies in a just cause, it asserted that if the cause is just and right, it will generate limitless strength, and this very cause will serve as a unifying force.
The RPF acting president then asserted that the only rightful cause for Manipur is "Independence" .
Straying from this path would be a misguided investment, yielding nothing but sorrow as its return, he added.
The right way to move forward together is to remove the signboard of Manipur Merger Agreement 1949 that has deceived Manipur and misled the public for generations causing them to bear the burden of colonialism.
This signboard should be eradicated from both people's consciousness and the collective history, read the statement.
The most fitting course of action would be for the king of Manipur to publicly declare that this agreement is null and void.
At the same time, the Manipur Legislative Assembly should deliberate on the reasons for the agreement's invalidity and make a decision, it said.
The king lacks legal authority and the Manipur Legislative Assembly is just another tool of Delhi, Nevertheless, this is an essential task, given the current circumstances, in order to send a clear and transparent message to all stakeholders.
These two entities should demonstrate the necessary fortitude to take this decisive step, it maintained.
It also called upon all the people to inspire courage in everyone involved in this effort and to support the RPF's National liberation movement.
The statement concluded by saluting all the comrades of CorCom who have stood together as well as to the various fraternal parties, individuals, and organizations that have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to the Nation.