According to Imphal Free Press, the Co-ordination Committee (CorCom) has called a general strike from the intervening midnight of October 14-15 till 6pm of October 15 as part of observing the National Black Day on October 15 against the ‘forced singing of the Merger Agreement.’
A statement of the CorCom said it has been observing the day when Manipur king Bodhachandra was made to sign the Merger Agreement under duress in Shillong and enforced on October 15, 1949 as National Black Day. It said the forced signing of the agreement is today 66 years old.
For several years, people from all corners of Manipur have been protesting against the agreement and several public discussions on the issue had observed that “India had annexed Manipur and it was not a merger,” it said. The statement said people of all communities residing in Manipur have also hold rallies and conventions against the forced agreement and resolving that the people’s right to national self-determination should be restored.
However, suppressing the voices of the people of Manipur, India has been holding the reins of Manipur’s governance and ruled over the land for such a long period, it said. It said even before India got its independence, Manipur had its own Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947 under which election was held in 1948 and its own democratic form of government formed, however, the government was dissolved and Manipur put under the Chief Commissioner Assam.
It said Manipur than followed the trajectory of being a Part C State, Territorial Council, Union Territory and Statehood. The CorCom statement also said that India has been using the strength of its Army to suppress the movement demanding restoration of independence.