MIYC makes stand clear to GoI
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 10 2025: The Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC) has stated that India cannot alter Manipur's boundary and Article 3 is not a licence for annexation.

In a statement issued by its coordinator MC Meetei, the Youth Council said that any attempt to alter the internationally significant territorial and political status of Manipur - whether by unilateral administrative dictum, a reinterpretation of domestic Constitutional provisions, or by enabling non-State actors to redraw lines on the ground would violate basic norms of international law, historical evidence and settled principles that protect the territory of peoples emerging from colonial domination.

It said that Manipur's legal and historical claim rests on three interlocking pillars - historical cartography and political reality, customary international law and the contested nature of 'Manipur's accession/annexation' The MIYC also stated that the principle of uti possidetis juris, which protects pre-independence borders, is supported by modem jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice.

This principle preserves administrative boundaries established at the moment of independence to prevent territorial rearrangements that could lead to instability and conflict when States emerged from colonial rule, it added.

It also said that although Article 3 empowers Parliament to form new States or alter existing State boundaries through legislation, this provision is a domestic mechanism and cannot supersede international legal protections.

Article 3 of the Constitution is not a licence to alter Manipur's boundary, the MIYC said and reiterated that domestic Constitutional powers cannot negate obligations or rules under international law.

The uti possidetis juris principle reinforced by ICJ jurisprudence is part of international public law used to stabilise borders at decolonisation, the MIYC explained.

Even within the Constitutional scheme, the exercise of Article 3 has historically required political consultation and the assent of representative institutions; where the very legitimacy of prior 'merger or accession' is contested, it said.

The Youth Centre further stated that the invocation of Article 3 to alter Manipur's boundaries without transparent process, inclusive consultation and proper legal remedy for historical grievances risks international condemnation, litigation and further destabilisation.

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