Correspondent
IMPHAL, JUN 2: Indigenous people of Manipur took a pledge to jointly resist any form of external aggression against Manipur while vowing to stand united against narco-terrorism, at a convention held at a village in Kangpokpi district on Tuesday.
Hosted by Native Peoples Committee Manipur (NPCM), the first “Native Peoples Convention” was held at Makhan village in Kangpokpi district under the theme “Unified Response”.
The convention brought together representatives of various indigenous communities and civil society organizations, particularly from the Meitei and Naga communities and deliberated on the issues and challenges being faced by the indigenous people along with academicians, legal experts, and community leaders.
After a threadbare deliberation, the convention unanimously adopted several resolutions which included among others to stand united to resist any form of external aggression against Manipur and to stand united against narco-terrorism.
The convention maintained that external aggression and narco-terrorism as the most serious threats confronting the state and its indigenous people.
The convention also resolved to formulate common policies and programmes to safeguard the interests of indigenous communities.
It further resolved to press the Centre for immediate abrogation of the suspension of operation (SoO) agreement with armed groups and called for the removal of the Assam Rifles from Manipur.
While expressing concern over the demographic threat to the indigenous people of the state, the convention unanimously resolved to press pertinent authorities to update the NRC.
It also proposed to hold a joint consultative meeting with legislators to discuss issues concerning the future of the state and its native inhabitants.
The convention further resolved that all members of the Native Peoples’ Convention, Manipur (NPCM), would collectively respond to any threat faced by its members and would refrain from supporting policies perceived as divisive or detrimental to indigenous unity, whether initiated by the state or the Union government.
The convention decided to observe “Native Peoples’ Day” annually on June 2 and to organise consultative meetings at district headquarters across Manipur to broaden public engagement on issues affecting indigenous communities were also passed by the convention.
The convention also decided to form a select committee to be tasked with creating awareness among national leaders, people in other parts of India and international audiences regarding the challenges facing Manipur and its native populations.
NPCM convener Ashang Kasar, talking to the reporters on the sideline of the event, stated that the main objective of today’s convention was to build unity among the indigenous communities in response to the growing challenges, threats, and uncertainties faced by native peoples in Manipur.
Describing NPCM as a broad-based platform committed to protecting the interests of indigenous communities, the convener said that today’s gathering focused on three key demands – the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement between the government of India and Kuki armed groups, the withdrawal of Assam Rifles from Manipur, and the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
He said that as long as the SoO agreement remains in force, the ongoing conflict and the insecurity faced by indigenous communities will persist.
“The SoO arrangement is one of the root causes of the present crisis and it cannot be separated from the current unrest,” he said.
The time has come for all the indigenous communities to stand united against what he described as external aggression and coordinated activities by external forces affecting Manipur.
He added that NPCM would take up issues related to the Manipur crisis, census operations, and NRC implementation with the Prime Minister and the Union home minister.
The NPCM will also seek appointments with the Prime Minister and Union home minister regarding the matters, he added.
The deliberative session of the convention was moderated by Jurist Abonmai and Ashem Prince.
Resource persons included retired IRS officer K Timothy Zimik, head of the department of law, Manipur University Dr Y Premananda, demographer Dr RK Narendra, and assistant professor Homen Thangjam of Indira Gandhi Tribal University, Manipur campus.