PPAM exhorts indigenes to fight institutional injustices
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 07 2025: As the International Day for the World's Indigenous Peoples approaches, the People's Progressive Alliance Manipur (PPAM) has issued a statement of solidarity with indigenous communities across the world, calling for unity and resistance against systemic marginalisation, cultural erasure, and denial of self-determination.

PPAM stated that the global theme, "Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures", reflects a new chapter in the longstanding, struggle of indigenous peoples to protect their identities and shape their own destinies.

The alliance stressed that technologies such as artificial intelligence risk becoming the latest instruments of exclusion unless they are developed "by, for, and with indigenous peoples", through meaningful consultation and rooted in the ethics and priorities of indigenous communities.

PPAM noted that while international conventions promise rights and protection, the lived realities of indigenous peoples remain defined by displacement, dispossession and exploitation.

From the colonial conquest that usurped ancestral lands to the contemporary practices of extractive industries and state-led development, indigenous communities face an unbroken chain of violence against their existence.

"Colonisation fundamentally recast indigenous existence," the alliance said, citing forced displacement, deforestation, urbanisation and mining as ongoing threats to in* digenous livelihoods and ecosystems.

In the digital era, these injustices are not only continuing but evolving, it said, while cautioning that data-driven governance, suryeillance, and AI-based systems frequently operate without indigenous participation or cultural understanding, reinforcing historical prejudices.

It called for a global movement to prevent new forms of indigenous erasure through digital means, insisting that any deployment of emerging technologies must respect free, prior, and informed consent.

In Manipur, this year's International Day of World's Indigenous People is being observed through a coordinated and unprecedented effort led by the Indigenous People's Forum, Manipur, under the aegis of the North East Indigenous People's Forum (NE1PF) .

The central event will be held at the City Convention Centre, Imphal, under the theme "Indigenous People s Right to Self Determination: A Pathway for Food Security and Sovereignty".

According to PPAM, the coming together of indigenous communities from across the Northeast in Manipur for this occasion symbolises "the unifying spirit of resistance and the shared struggle for dignity and justice".

The alliance emphasised that self-determination is not a political slogan but the foundational right that enables indigenous communities to control their food systems, economies, and futures.

It argued that colonially-imposed governance structures have long eroded traditional knowledge and decision-making power, forcing indigenous peoples into dependence on market-based, unsustainable agricultural models that threaten biodiversity and local resilience.

True food security can only be achieved by recognising indigenous land rights and restoring community autonomy oVer farming, seeds, and ecosystems.

Cultural celebrations are also part of the observance in Manipur.

The Yelhoumee Phurup is organising ethnic cultural showcases and screening the film 'Rongdaife' at the Manipur State Film Development Society Hall in Palace Compound, affirming indigenous identity as vital to both resistance and renewal.

Simultaneously, the Federation of Indigenous People's Democratic Movement (FIDM) will honour young mothers bearing the highest number of children at Sana Konung Uttra Shanglen, Imphal, describing it as a symbolic affirmation of life, fertility, and community continuity amid adversity.

PPAM stated that these observances are not only about remembrance but about reclaiming agency.

The alliance referred to the displacement of thousands of indigenous people following the May 3, 2023 conflict in Manipur as a stark reminder of the vulnerability these communities still face.

It blamed militarisation, structural neglect, and political apathy for deepening the crisis and reiterated the need for justice and rehabilitation for those displaced.

The alliance called for the restoration of indigenous rights, including land, language, and participatory development free from bureaucratic control.

"Indigenous self-determination, and not bureaucratic paternalism, is the only legitimate foundation for food security, cultural sovereignty, and enduring peace," it asserted.

Reaffirming its support for International Day of World's Indigenous People, PPAM concluded that the crisis of indigenous peoples is a growing emergency, not a historical relic.

From the Amazon to Northeast India, indigenous communities are on the frontlines of resisting land theft, cultural siege, and now digital exclusion.

"The right to self-determination is not negotiable and must be enshrined in law, policy, and practice," the alliance contended.

"Justice for indigenous peoples is justice for all," PPAM said, urging the global community to centre indigenous sovereignty in its pursuit of peace, sustainability, and equity.

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