Imphal, July 31: Delving forth on the essence of integrity, the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation today said that the integrity of Manipur means territory, people and the ties that bind the people together living within the territory.

In a leaflet issued to the press ahead of Integrity Day on August 4, AMUCO said that the concept of Manipur integrity will be lost without territory and likewise, integrity will lose its meaning if the ties that bind the people are snapped.

Only territory will not guarantee integrity, it observed.

AMUCO asserted that it is not the Government of Manipur which can protect the integrity of Manipur and added that the territory of Manipur can be altered by an Act passed in Parliament.

The State Assembly does not have the authority to oppose the Act passed by Parliament, it said and added that this is ample proof that the Government of Manipur cannot protect the integrity of Manipur.

The integrity of Manipur has been protected by the ties that bind the people together for ages.

However after Manipur merged with the Indian Union in 1949, the danger of breaking up Manipur has come to haunt the people and this has given rise to distrust amongst the different communities living in Manipur, added AMUCO.

The seeds of distrust were sown by the politics of divide and rule and in their bid to capture power and enjoy its perks, the people were divided along communal lines and ethnicity by the politicians to win the election, said the leaflet.

On top of this, successive Governments since 1949 has made the State economically dependent on India which has a direct connection with the division amongst the people, it observed.

As it became apparent that the Manipur Government cannot protect the integrity of Manipur, the people, cutting across community staged a huge rally on August 4, 1997.Since then August 4 has been observed as Integrity day, said AMUCO.

The June 14, 2001 Bangkok Declaration was another proof that the Government of Manipur cannot protect the integrity of Manipur, added AMUCO and recalled the 66 hours general strike called by AMUCO from June 15 that culminated in the mass protest on June 18, that led to the loss of 14 lives.

Unfortunately some organisations which sprang up in the name of the people were instrumental in getting the Govt involved in observing June 18 from 2002, charged AMUCO.

Since the Govt has been using June 18 as a weapon to befool the public and today the sacred June 18 has become something of a tool for the State Govt and the Centre to sow the seeds of distrust and animosity amongst the people of Manipur, charged the statement.

A number organisations, ostensibly working for the welfare of the people have also been wittingly and unwittingly helping the Govt to pursue its agenda.

On the other hand some group of people who do not want to respect the age old ties that bind the people together have also jumped in and are helping the Government of India in keeping the people divided, added AMUCO.

The agenda of dividing the people and sowing the seeds of animosity amongst the people of North East was hatched by the Government of India a long time back.

It is with this intention that the Indian Govt has been talking about remapping the entire North East States by chopping and adding the land.

The statement further said that though protecting and developing the National Highways is in the Union list, the Indian Govt has always been a silent spectator whenever any group of people imposed a blockade on the highways down the years.

This is because the Indian Govt is intent on dividing the people along every conceivable lines.

To defeat the agenda of the Indian Govt, the people of the North East need to work towards formulating a policy of voluntary unity.

It is under this voluntary unity, that the integrity of Manipur will be ensured, it added.

The rally on August 4, 1997 and the June 18, 2001 incident more than show that the people of Manipur are committed to protecting the integrity of Manipur.

The time now is to study which direction to take to ensure the integrity of Manipur, said AMUCO and added that the best path to take is the way shown by the late Hijam Irabot.

A system of governance where the people are treated equally, where there is no exploitation of any sort, a self reliant entity, are the recipes for the integrity of Manipur, said the statement.

All the people of Manipur must be treated on an equal footing and there should no division of any sort, it mooted.