The insurgents are yet to respond to Manipur Governor Vinod Kumar Duggal’s call for peace talks. During his speech in the Assembly on Monday, Mr. Duggal said that there are 60 armed underground organisations in Manipur. The population of the state according to the 2011 census is less than 28 lakh.
But then the way the underground organisations ignored the invitation does not come as a complete surprise. In the past the underground organisations had ignored the appeals from the government and leaders of the union government for hammering out an agreement through negotiations. One proscribed underground organisation, the Revolutionary People's Front openly said that it would accept not less than independence.
The underground outfits maintain that Manipur had been an independent country before India became a free country. There was the Constitution, the Assembly with elected representatives in Manipur before 1947. The merger agreement was signed by the Manipur King, Budhachandra at Shillong on September 15, 1949. Since he was a titular head he was not authorised by the council of ministers and had no power to sign such an important document. This is the main force behind the armed movement in Manipur.
The Governor said that outfits are hampering the implementation of the developmental works. After being frustrated, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh asked the insurgents either to become contractors or armed rebels. He said that the insurgents are extorting illegal taxes from the contractors and other sections of the people thereby impeding the progress of the developmental works.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 was clamped in Manipur on September 8, 1980 as the foreign trained insurgents gained upper hand. However the Chief Minister had lifted this Act from seven Assembly segments in the Imphal municipal council on August 12, 2004 following some excesses allegedly committed by the security forces.
