CCPUR, January 25: The Joint Action Committee against Anti-Tribal Bills has appealed to the tribal people of the State to abstain from the Republic Day celebration.
A statement of the JAC said it would like to reiterate its public appeal made earlier regarding its request to all tribal people of Manipur to abstain from the Indian Republic Day celebrations on January 26, as was resolved in the tribal consultation meeting convened by the JAC at the Synod Hall, IB Road, Lamka on January 14.
This collective resolution was taken in the meeting as a demonstration of our resentment towards the Manipur government’s continued injustice towards the tribal people of Manipur and the Central government remaining a mere spectator while the tribal people are being denied their constitutional rights for decades now, it said.
Hence, recognising the fact that this is an issue that infringes on the identity, land and rights of the tribal people of Manipur, and with the same being conveniently ignored for decades now by the State as well as Central governments, all tribals in Manipur are requested to refrain from participating in any of the activities related to the Indian Republic Day celebration, it said.
It further requested tribals belonging to various communities in Manipur to light candles at their respective homes on the night of January 26 between 6pm to 7pm as a show of respect for the supreme sacrifices made by the nine tribal martyrs, to express our solidarity and collective grief towards the government’s continued indifference to the issues faced by the tribals of Manipur and our collective commitment towards fighting for the tribal cause, as also resolved in the said meeting.