What Is The Possible Future Political status Of Manipur
- Part 5 -

Dr. Khomdon Lisam *

20. Declaration of Disturbed Area - Manipur had been declared a ‘disturbed area’ in its entirety in 1980 and the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) 1958 was imposed in the State on 8 September, 1980.

21. India imposed Armed Forces Special PowerAct-1958

The British imperialists enacted the inhuman Armed Forces Special Ordinance in 1942 to crush the Indian freedom movement.. The democratic India enacted a much more heinous version called the Armed Forces Special Powers Act called the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) on 22 May,1958.

The AFSPA is the mother of all black laws in India . When the Act was legislated in 1958 to ‘combat' insurgency there was only the Naga movement in the north-east. Over the last 57 years, the Act has been in force, it has only contributed to the rise of more and more insurgent outfits in the region. While parliamentary democracy requires the army to be kept away from the tasks of internal policing and administration, the AFSPA virtually introduces military rule in a democratic garb.

Manipur alone has witnessed a series of massacres and ‘disappearances'. The Army itself says that till date it has had to punish 66 of its men in the north-east as they were found guilty of excesses even though it asserts that only 25 of the 451 complaints received were found valid in its internal scrutiny. (Manipur Burning -Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and Centre's Apathy -– Krishna Singh T ) .

People are asking a simple question to the Hon’blr Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Home Minister of India - why don’t they imposed AFSPA-1958 in Maoist / Naxalites affected states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh states. In 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the Naxalites the "single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country".

In June 2011, he said, "Development is the master remedy to win over people" adding that the government was "strengthening the development work in the 60 Maoist-affected districts Do they think that the lives of Manipuris are worthless. Immediately after the Malom massacre, one lady called Irom Sharmila has been fasting and on nose feeding for the last fifteen years with a demand for repealing this draconian Act called Armed Forces Special Power Act-1958 (AFSPA) in this land of Gandhiji.

The longest fast of Mahatma Gandiji was 21 days. Why was the entire India was shaken when Anna Hazare fasted only for 4-5 five days and there is a deafening silence in India when Irom Sharmila fasted for 15 years. Is it the Indian style of democracy ?

22. Major instances of Mass Killing:-

22.1. One of the earlier massacres by the forces of the Indian Union was the Heirangoithong massacre in outskirts of Imphal on 14 March 1984, at the Heirangoithong Volleyball Ground following indiscriminate firing by the CRPF personnel stationed nearby resulting in the death of thirteen (13) persons and injuring thirty-one (31) others.6

22.2. The tragic incident that attracted international condemnation was “Operation Bluebird” a months-long protracted counterinsurgency operation in 30 villages conducted by the Assam Rifles in the northern Senapati District of Manipur in 1987.

22.3. Another incident was the extrajudicial execution of nine civilians by the CRPF in Imphal City within the campus of the Regional Medical College (RMC) now renamed the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences(RIMS) in 1995

22.4. The notorious Malom massacre that occurred in 2000 led to the arbitrary killing of eleven persons including women and one child, who had just received a national Bravery Award from the President of India.

22.5. The massacre at Tabanglong in Western Tamenglong District on 28 December 2000 resulted in the death of eight (8) villagers when they were attacked by soldiers belonging to the 15th Jat Regiment, a military regiment of the Indian army.

These few examples of military massacres only serve to illustrate the fact that, for many years in Manipur, the armed forces belonging to the Indian Union have been killing local civilians arbitrarily by using force inconsistent to the principle of absolute necessity and proportion, in violation of human rights.

23. Manipur’s Representation in Indian Parliament

The number of Lok Sabha MPs for Manipur is not viable- The number of Lok Sabha seats for Manipur is only two whereas for UP, it is 80. This small number of Lok Sabha MPs is not viable. No MP from Manipur will be able to become the Prime Minister or President even if he is Lord Krishna or Jesus Christ or prophet Muhammad. We find that for a small population hardly two lakhs of Anglo-Indians, Nehru had put the number of Lok Sabha MPs as two. Considering the Indian Constitution, can any Manipuri become the Prime Minster of India in the next 500 years The number of Lok Sabha MPs for Manipur should be a least eight.

There is no balanced representation of states in the Rajya Sabha ( Council of States ). The number of Rajya Sabha seat for Manipur is only one whereas for UP, it is 31. Rajya Sabha is the Council of States. There should be balanced and equal representation of States-big or small as done in many countries of the world including USA. . The number of Rajya Sabha MPs for Manipur should be seven .

24. Possible Future Political Status of Manipur

Considering the proud history of Manipur as a Sovereign Kingdom for more than 2000 years, recognising the series of blunders the Government of India has committed against Manipur during the last 66 years and recognising the various demands of the ethnic groups, the people of Manipur should assert that the Government of India ,may grant “RESORATION OF PRE-MERGER STATUS OF MANIPUR” without further delay. The relationship between Government of India and Manipur will be like the relationship between United Kingdom and Scotland or Hong Kong and China.

The PRE-MERGER STATUS OF MANIPUR may consist of the following components :-

1. Separate constitution 2 Separate Flag (Pakhangba Flag) 3. Separate Parliament 4.Separate Supreme Court 5. Separate Administrative System 6. Separate Legal System 7. Separate Passport 8. Separate Currency Joint External Affaires 9. Joint Defence system 10. Permanent Representative to UN 11. Right to run Manipur Embassies in countries of our choice 11.Special Central Budget 13.

Right to conclude commercial Business and Trading Agreements with foreign countries. Manipur may remain as a part of India with shared Sovereignty. Without restoration of PRE-MERGER STATUS OF MANIPUR, fulfilment of any other demands will be meaningless. We willhave our wn country with all the etnic groups living in harmony and peacefully to together and compete with the best brains of the world.

This will be possible only when we stand united. This will be possible only when the civil society organisations, pressure groups, political parties have a common language, common goal, common strategy and initiate a people’s mass movement with passion, commitment, dedication and sacrifice. This will be possible only when the young people lead the people’s mass movement.

The time for action is TODAY, Tomorrow, it may be too late .

Concluded....