Days after Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh had ruled out fulfilling the separate state and alternative arrangement demands, in his address on the occasion of Independence Day celebration held in Imphal, Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) Wednesday slammed and termed the statement of Ibobi as “provocative and unconstitutional”.
KDSC in a statement said that the statement of Ibobi was without substance and, in fact, was a violation of the Constitution of India.
“The state government should concentrate on development of its people, rather than clamour over issues not within its ambit.
It will be wise not to refer to the history of Manipur before the advent of the British colonialists in India, in particular about Manipur,” the statement of the KSDC signed by its information and publicity secretary George Guite reacted.
KSDC observed that Manipur was a tiny landlocked kingdom comprising the valley surrounded by hills inhabited mostly by Kukis.
It stated that KSDC never demand the land of others, rather they demand recognition of Kuki Ancestral lands, to be accorded Kuki statehood, within the Constitution of India under Article 3.
KSDC pointed out that creation of new state was a central list, for which the state has no say. “We never demanded full-fledged status for Sadar hills district.
However, denying the rights of the people for development for such a long time exposed the lackadaiscal attitude of the state government, who claims commitment for the development of the hills”, KSDC alleged.
“The statement of the Chief Minister has no valid base; it is hogwash to camouflage the state Government’s inability to develop the hills, particularly the Kukis areas. Since the signing of SoO with Kuki UGs, peace returned in the hills, while development has been kept at bay.”
The committee also said that the “Kukis have no future in Manipur”, and maintained that life and property of the Kukis could not be protected. The government was a mute spectator to the 1990s massacre and the mass raping of our women in 2000s, it alleged.
The committee said that KSDC stand for Kuki state was not an article that can be exchanged; it represents the legitimate rights of the Kukis for a dignified future.
“It will be a wise step on the part of the government of Manipur to establish good relations with the Kukis, rather than engage in propaganda against the legitimate demand for Kuki state,” the committee stated.
The KSDC said that Kuki people wanted continuation of cordial relations that had existed between the kings of Manipur and the Kuki chiefs, both in good and bad times.
Meanwhile, KSDC chairman Hejang Haokip and secretary K.Gangte have landed in Kokrajhar, the hearland of Bodoland movement in Assam to show their support by joining the indefinite hunger strike for Bodoland and Kuki state set to begin from August 22.