Imphal: The Coordination Committee has appealed to the people of Manipur to observed October 15 as Black Day.
The Committee which is formed by the militant outfits like KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, PREPAK (Pro), RPF and UNLF of Manipur and National Liberation Front of Twipra said it will impose an 18 hours general Strike in the entire region of Manipur and Twipra from the mid-night of October 1400 to 1800 hours of October 15 .
H Poirei, Media Coordinator said Manipur and Twipra (Tripura) were annexed to the Indian Union. Manipur began very boldly and distinctly to exist as an independent democratic state framing her own Constitution and having her own popular Government formed by the majority of the members elected by the people, which even predates the constitution of Independent India by two years he said .
On September 21, 1949 Manipur King signed, under duress Merger Agreement which was effective from October 15, 1949.
The National Convention on Manipur Merger, Imphal under the aegis of a conglomerate of civil society groups attended by many elite personalities and intellectuals had declared the Manipur Merger Agreement did not have any legality and constitutional validity.
Again, on October 14, 1996, a National Peoples Mass Rally was organised in which more than hundred thousand peoples from every nook and corner of Manipur participated.
A public meeting held after the rally, at Mapan Kangjeibung, reaffirmed that this agreement is illegal and void and unanimously took a firm and resolute stand to demand the Right to National Self Determination of the Manipuri Peoples, which is legitimate under the UN Charter of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights he added.
He further said Borok Kings ruled Twipra, one of the ancient princely states, continuously with sovereign and independent status.
After the tragic death of the last ruling king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarma in 1947, his minor son took the throne as Queen Kanchan Prava Devi a Regent Queen, ran the administration of the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in the name of protecting Twipra, India pressured the Queen to sign the Twipra Merger Agreement on September 9, 1949, which also came into effect from October 15, 1949 and tens of thousands of Boroks took to the streets in protest but they were suppressed with brute force. Martial rule was imposed which was in force until 1952.
Hundreds of Borok leaders who spearheaded the protest were put behind bars.
This was followed by massive incoming of Hindu Bengali settlers from across the international border that led to demographic catastrophe in the territory. Today all political unrest centres on this issue. (UNI)