The shutdown has paralysed normal life in five districts of Imphal Valley on Monday. The National Revolutionary Front Manipur (NRFM), a proscribed underground outfit imposed a 24-hours total statewide shutdown from midnight of September 20 to 21 against the 1949 merger of Manipur with the Indian union, terming it as illegal.
The statement described the merger as an alleged unlawful annexation of Manipur’s sovereignty and questioned the circumstances under which the agreement was signed. The shutdown impacted commuters, public transport, educational institutions and market places in the capital city. Security forces were also deployed at key locations of Imphal city as a part of security measures. The call for shutdown was issued in a statement by NRFM’s self-styled information and publicity secretary, Sanajaoba Meitei.
The NRFM also referred to resolutions passed during the National Convention on the Manipur Merger Issue in October 1993, which, it said, had also raised questions about the legality of the merger. Manipur police in a statement issued on Saturday said that one NRFM cadre identified as Namorjam Boboi Mangang (39) of Haorang Khunou Warok Sabal Leikai, Imhal West was arrested on September 19. He was arrested by a combined team of special commando unit and 10 Assam Rifles from Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS), Lamphel, Imphal West gate number 1, Imphal West district.
“Only a few employees attended the office though no protestors were seen on streets,” a government employee requesting anonymity told HT.
The agreement was signed under pressure and without the consent of the then-elected Manipur legislative assembly, according to the NRFM. It was formed by three factions of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and has operated from bases across the international border. Police arrested three persons, a man and his two sons were arrested, and recovered an AK assault rifle, one 9mm pistol and ammunition within six days of the attack.
The group referred to the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947, and the legislative institutions established in 1948 to argue that Manipur had its own constitutional system before it formally merged with India on October 15, 1949. The NRFM was formed on September 11, 2011, and was earlier known as the United Revolutionary Front. The outfit on Friday launched an attack towards a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Khonghampat village in Imphal West while patrolling by foot along national highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur).
