Imphal: A 12-hour shutdown called by eight banned militant groups disrupted normal life across Manipur on Thursday, bringing commercial activities, public transport and educational institutions to a standstill in protest against the state’s merger with the Indian Union in 1949.
According to police reports, markets and business establishments remained closed, while public transport stayed off the roads as sections of the population observed the shutdown as a “National Black Day”. Government offices recorded sparse attendance, and educational institutions remained shut throughout the day.
Officials said the shutdown passed peacefully, with no untoward incidents reported. Security personnel were deployed in key locations to maintain law and order. Emergency services, media organisations and religious ceremonies were exempted from the shutdown. Police also reported that the response to the bandh was partial in the hill districts.
The shutdown was spearheaded by the Coordination Committee (CorCom), an umbrella organisation comprising six banned outfits – the KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, PREPAK-Pro, RPF and UNLF. CorCom called for the shutdown from 6 am to 6 pm, while the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SOREPA) announced a parallel strike from 5 am to 5 pm.
Meanwhile, Sanajoaba Meitei, information and publicity secretary of the National Revolutionary Front of Manipur (NRFM), described October 15 as a historic turning point that marked the loss of Manipur’s political independence. The shutdown drew visible compliance from sections of the intellectual community, civil society organisations and academic institutions.
In its statement, CorCom reiterated its demand for the restoration of Manipur’s sovereignty, alleging that the state’s independence had been taken away by India. The coalition also accused government forces of waging a proxy war to weaken the local revolutionary movement, disrupt the socio-economic fabric of the Manipur valley and exploit the region’s underground mineral resources.