Manipur: NRFM calls 24-hour bandh over 1949 merger agreement

Imphal: The proscribed National Revolutionary Front Manipur (NRFM) has called for a 24-hour statewide bandh from midnight on September 20 to midnight on September 21, 2026, in opposition to the 1949 Manipur Merger Agreement.

In a statement issued by its Information and Publicity Secretary Sanajaoba Meitei, the outfit described the merger as an alleged unlawful annexation of Manipur’s sovereignty and questioned the circumstances under which the agreement was signed.

The NRFM said the shutdown would exempt essential services, including healthcare, water supply, electricity and the media.

The outfit also questioned the constitutional validity of the agreement signed on September 21, 1949, between Manipur’s then Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh and representatives of the Dominion of India.

According to the NRFM, the agreement was signed under coercion and without the consent of the then-elected Manipur Legislative Assembly. The group cited the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947, and the legislative institutions established in 1948 to argue that Manipur had its own constitutional framework before its formal merger with India on October 15, 1949.

The outfit also referred to resolutions adopted during the National Convention on the Manipur Merger Issue in October 1993, which, it said, had similarly raised questions over the legality of the merger.

The NRFM was formed on September 11, 2011, and was earlier known as the United Revolutionary Front. It emerged from three factions of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and has operated from bases across the international border.

The outfit has maintained that the 1949 merger was a key factor behind the emergence of the contemporary armed revolutionary movement in Manipur. It has also alleged that subsequent policies of the central government have contributed to instability in Manipuri society.

The bandh has been called to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the 1949 agreement, with the NRFM using the occasion to reiterate its longstanding position on Manipur’s political status.