ASUK joins Jan 26 total shutdown call
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 22 2024: The Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak (ASUK) too has called a total shutdown across Kangleipak/Manipur from 6 am to 6 pm on January 26 .

A statement issued by ASUK publicity committee convenor S Mangal recalled that India became a republic with the adoption of its Constitution on January 26, 1950 but the Manipur Constitution Act came into force three years earlier on July 26, 1947 .

A representative Government was formed in 1948 after holding elections through adult franchise and the first sitting of the first Manipur Legislative Assembly was held on October 18, 1948 .

All the voters and candidates of the election held in 1948 were bonafide citizens of Manipur, it asserted.

ASUK said that Manipur was the first independent country in the entire South East Asia which was governed by a democratically elected Government.

But Manipur was forcibly annexed by India on October 15, 1949 and the erstwhile independent Nation was reduced to the status of a Part-C State of India, it alleged.

In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister of India and the Congress president, Praja Shanti, the then ruling party of Manipur wrote, "That almost cent per cent of the Manipuris are against integration or merging will be clear from a referendum" .

Praja Shanti held a public meeting on August 3, 1949 and a resolution adopted at the meeting stated, "The big gathering of today's protest public meeting unanimously passed the resolution that the Gadi (under Manipur Constitution, 1947 sic) cannot be abolished and the State cannot be integrated or merged" .

These historical records and events testified that the merger of Manipuri into the Indian Union was never consented by the responsible Government of Manipur or the people, ASUK said.

It said that Part-C State was lower or inferior to the status of a Union Territory and Manipur was given Statehood only in 1972 .

This was an utter humiliation of Manipur which existed as an independent Nation for over 2000 years, it said.

Today, the people of Manipur are being surrounded by a buffer zone or red line which cannot be crossed.

This is a result of Manipur's merger into India, it continued.

The Indian Constitution has failed to protect the lives of Manipuri people and their properties, it said.

For all these reasons, the people of Manipur ought not to join the Indian Republic Day celebration, ASUK asserted.

Medical services, religious functions, media and emergency services would not be covered by the total shutdown, it added.

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