The Joint Students' Body (JSB), Lamka (Churachandpur), on Saturday organised a mass rally in protest against FIRs against writers, scholars and tribal leaders, and in condemnation of the Solicitor General of India's remarks in Supreme Court on tribal martyrs and Union Home Minister, Amit Shah’s Lok Sabha statement blaming infiltrators as cause of ongoing violence in Manipur.
The rally participated by thousands of men, women and youths began from Public Ground, Hiangtam Lamka, and marched through IB Road, Tiddim road thus gathered at the site of 'Wall of Remembrance', Tuibuong, near Peace Ground.
The protestors were seen holding various placards which read- "Stand up against injustice to Kuki-Zo historians and scholars, Learn to respect the history of others too, My history not your right, Don’t think FIRs can erase Kuki rightful place in history, No to academic censorship, Like it or not Anglo Kuki War (1917-19) is a historical fact," amongst others.
Briefing to the media at the Wall of Remembrance site, the Secretary of Zomi Students' Federation (ZSF), Samuel Taithul said that Amit Shah’s comment in the Lok Sabha that 'the violence in Manipur was caused by infiltrators of people from across the border' is very unfortunate and that the Union Home Minister is either ill informed or misinformed. Urging the Union Home Minister to give a clarification for his statement, Samuel asserted that whatever allegations that the trouble in Manipur is being caused by illegal immigrants are all false. "All the people defending the villages and the land are all the citizens of India," he said.
Regarding the statement of the Solicitor General of India that 'the dead bodies in hospitals in Imphal are mostly of infiltrators', Samuel said the Government of India's lawyer may have fallen to a political pressure to make such a statement. The ZSF Secretary also said that many Kuki-Zo intellectuals and academicians are being suppressed through FIRs over their statement.
The Secretary of Joint Sudents' Body, Lamka, DJ Haokip said three Kuki-Zo village guards were mercilessly butchered by valley-based insurgent groups on Friday even though the central forces are performing their duty day and night to maintain peace and tranquility in the State. Haokip also demanded the Centre government for deployment of Assam Rifles and central security forces in all the buffer zones. He further demanded that AFSPA act be reinstated in the whole state of Manipur.
The Joint Students' Body latter submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, through the Deputy Commissioner, Churachandpur.
The memorandum stated that the campaign to annihilate the Zo ethnic tribes of Manipur physically and silence their voices by the radical Meitei and Manipur government machineries continues without any break for four months now.
It stated that on 15th Aug, 2023, although the secessionist Meitei UGS boycotted the Indian Independence Day, the Zo tribals conducted Public celebration at Lamka Public ground and proclaimed the tribals' loyalty to Bharat-Mata, its Constitutions and National flag. Surprisingly, the Manipur government alleged that the Village Volunteers contingents were narco-terrorists who displayed sophisticated arms during the march-pass although the so-called sophisticated arms are toy-guns and dummy arms made of wooden plank. Unfortunately such public display of our loyalty to the nation is being viewed as anti- national by the Meitei.
On 18 August, 2023, three Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers were brutally killed by radical Meitei terrorist groups in Thowai Kuki Village of Ukhrul district. Even though we lifted blockade of National Highways on humanitarian ground the Meitei never reciprocate the same, it alleged.
"The Meitei mob under the banner of Meira Paibis continue their blockades on all roads leading to the Kuki-Zomi habitations (Imphal-Lamka, Imphal-Morch and Imphal-Kangpokpi routes). On 18th August, 2023, a medical package consisting of routine immunization vaccines transported from Imphal to Senapati and Kangpokpi districts were waylaid at Sekmai Meitei village and all vaccine materials meant for Kangpokpi were destroyed. Postal service trucks from Imphal to Lamka, the first trip since May 3 were stopped at Bishnupur and made to return to Imphal," the Memo stated.
JSB also mentioned that the house of Thangso Baite, ex-MP representing the Outer Manipur constituency at Lamphel Super Market, Imphal, was torched by the majority community in the valley on August 18.
The Joint Students Body stated that the State Government under the leadership of N. Biren Singh communalized every issue and used all the State machineries to kill, maimed, and silenced the Kuki-Zomi tribes. An FIR was lodged against the book, the Inevitable Split-I and the Anglo-Kuki War, both of which explained about the historical facts and undeniable sequences of events leading to the present conflict.
"While the Meitei intellectuals and activists were allowed to freely make defamatory and provocative claims against the Kuki-Zomi tribes without any harassments and institutional threats, the attempt to silence the democratic voices of the Kuki-Zomi intellectuals continues apace," JSB stated in its Memorandum.
Till date as many as 11 Kuki-Zomi intellectuals, academicians and activists have been slapped with FIRs and court summons.
"The purpose of filing these FIRS and court cases is simply to harass and intimidate the tribal scholars and activists by dragging them through the tortuous legal process. Since the Meiteis control the state machinery including the State judicial machinery, they are simply resorting to every means at their command to silence the tribal voices as a part of their annihilation process," JSB said.
The students body, therefore, beseeched the Prime Minister to kindly end the institutionalized criminalization of Kuki-Zomi scholars and academician by usurping the State Judicial system, and provide fullest constitutional safeguards to their land and identity in the form of a Separate Administration.
The Hills Journal
K. Salbung, Churachandpur
Manipur-795128
