NEW DELHI – The formerly princely state of Manipur had become part of Indiain 1949 after New Delhi gained independence, but the people of the statedispute the succession and have been waging a decades-long violentseparatist campaign, reported *Al Jazeera*.
The last ruler of Manipur Bodhchandra Singh signed the instrument ofaccession after he feared that Burma (now Myanmar) will take over thestate. This succession had been questioned by the people of Manipur.
*Read more: Manipur leaders in London announce separation from India*link
Manipur, one of India’s smallest states has a population of close to 2.8million people. It is known as the one of the so-called “Seven Sisters” — agroup of restive northeastern states.
According to India’s Centre for Development and Peace Studies, theemergence of the insurgency in Manipur traced to the emergence of thedissident group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) on November 24,1964.
The reason for the insurgency was the forced merger of Manipur and thedelay in the conferring of full-fledged statehood which was greatlyresented by the people of Manipur.
Since then several other outfits, like the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),founded on September 25, 1978, People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak(PREPAK) set up on October 9, 1977 and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)that came into being in April, 1980. All the groups have been demanding aseparate independent Manipur.
Read Top Stories
According to the Indian think tank, these groups have a policy of nottargeting the state police but have been fighting the Indian army andpara-military troops in the region as they represent the Indian government.
As a response to the insurgency, Manipur has been declared a ‘disturbedarea’ since 1980 and the Indian Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958 hasbeen imposed in the state by the government. The people of the statecontinue to protest the use of such powers by the Indian government as ithas led to many human rights violations in the state.
At a press conference in London on Tuesday, Chief Minister of Manipur StateCouncil Yamben Biren and Minister of External Affairs and Defence ofManipur State Council Narengbam Samarjit announced to formally launch theexiled government – the Manipur State Council.
The exiled government will be based in Central London.
