IMPHAL, September 24: Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) President Irengbam Chaoren while greeting the public on the 35th raising day of the outfit’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in a press release said,“It is a historical fact that our forefathers fought valiantly with all their might against invading British forces in the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891. They fought to the last man to preserve Manipur`s sovereignty. The statement went on to add, “It is time for all our people to join or lend their support to the historically legitimate revolutionary movement instead of reducing ourselves to the status of pawns and create enemies within ourselves. Corruption, violent race for amassing personal wealth, killings, groupism, inter-communal and intra-communal conflicts has become the order of the day. Large numbers of our youth have given themselves to intoxicating drugs and many unimaginable things and events are happening right before our eyes as a result of adopting the narcissistic and malevolent way of thinking.”
The statement blamed the Government of India for paving the way for the birth of various revolutionary groups through promotion of communal divide among the indigenous people of Manipur, nurturing pseudo revolutionary groups and then vitiating relationship among revolutionary groups to create rivalry and conflict.
“The Government of Manipur, in the interest of the people, need to work sincerely to neutralise all pseudo revolutionary groups set up at the behest of Indian agents, and control their activities aimed at projecting genuine revolutionary groups in bad light. It also need to work towards eliminating all sense of communalism deliberately cultivated and encouraged by the Government of India,” the statement said.
Pointing out that there is an urgent need for leaders of well-established revolutionary groups to work towards organising and mobilising all revolutionary groups having same goals and objectives so that all groups can strive together under one common leadership, it said that CorCom accepts this momentous responsibility and will strive to translate it into action.
“Killings, arbitrary detention, harassment and all kinds of repressive measures unleashed upon the people of Manipur by the Indian military in the name of counter insurgency operations are classic characteristics of colonialism. These are threatening realities of colonialism and the scourge of neo-imperialism is equally grave. Rendering a nation or country economically dependent, dilution and assimilation of indigenous culture and traditions, abolition of indigenous religious practices and languages, posing challenges to indigenous identity are all not so vocal instruments of nee-imperialism but they are potent enough to eliminate an entire nation,” it went on to say.
The current of permanent exodus from India to Western South East Asia (WESEA) including Manipur is not a recent phenomenon and is one of the many potent instruments of neo-im perialism, the statement said while adding that India`s Look East Policy, Indo-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, proposed India-
European Union Free Trade Agreement and Asian Highway-I (which would pass through Manipur) are all elements of neo-imperialism.
Divergent perspectives and concepts harboured by different communities in Manipur and the rising level of distrust is one bitter reality that came into being only after Manipur was annexed by India. People who are seeking alternative arrangement and those demanding Kuki state are all indigenous people of the land who lived and grew together and divergent and contradictory political movements based on parochial ethnic interest and aspirations witnessed in Manipur at present are all aimed at achieving some material benefits from India. But these community based movements can never redress the common problems and sufferings being endured by all the indigenous communities. To defeat India`s policy of fragmentation on ethnic lines, all the indigenous communities need to join hands and build up our collective strength. No community of Manipur can live happily in isolation. A plural society is the only way which can deliver a dignified life to all our indigenous people, the statement said.