Imphal: Seven underground outfits in Manipur on Friday called for an 18-hour total shutdown from 12:00 PM on January 25 to 6:00 PM on January 26, boycotting India’s Republic Day and urging the public to refrain from participating in the celebrations.
The Coordination Committee (CorCom), an apex body of six banned insurgent groups in Manipur, appealed to the public to stay indoors and avoid activities that could mark the day.
In a statement issued by its Publicity Committee, CorCom described the Indian Republic Day as a “colonial reconsolidation day” for Manipur (Kangleipak).
The outlawed Socialist Revolutionary Party (SOREPA), Kangleipak, also announced a boycott of Republic Day celebrations in the state, calling for a total bandh from 5:00 AM to 5:00 PM on January 26.
In a press release issued by its publicity secretary, MC Yaiphabi, SOREPA stated that it would support all boycotts, shutdowns, and general strikes called in Western South East Asia (WESEA), Kashmir, Khalistan, and Manipur on the same day.
Emergency services, including fire stations, the water department, media houses, medical services, and religious or ritual ceremonies, have been exempted from the shutdown.
These proscribed outfits are protesting the merger of the erstwhile independent Manipur nation into the Indian Union. Notably, the princely state of Manipur merged with India in 1949.