Asem Bhakta Singh, Special Correspondence North East
MAYOL: Thousands of people from
Konthoujam Village and its surrounding areas extended a warm
welcome to the volunteers of
Manipur Youth League
(MAYOL) as they reached
Konthoujam Leirembi Ima Complex this afternoon. The volunteers of MAYOL are participat-
ing in a 21-day long march that
began on December 20, 2023,
from Kangla Uttra Shanglen.
The purpose of this march is to
rejuvenate the Manipuri people
and protect the political bound-
aries of our former nation from
enemies. The long march will
conclude on January 9, 2024,
which marks the 190th Death
Anniversary of Maharaja
Ghambhir Singh, the leader who
drove out the Burmese occupiers and led the Manipur levy.
On the third day of the long
march, a meeting was held at
Konthoujam Lairembi Imagi
Shanglen under the initiative of
the Peoples’ Protection Com-
mittee (PPC). During the event,
Rinku Khumukcham, the Editor
of Imphal Times, emphasized
the importance of understanding the root cause of the ongoing conflict that has plagued the
state since May 3.
“Over seven and a halt
months have passed, and the
crisis remains unresolved. As
the crisis persists and those
with the power to end it remain
silent spectators, it is crucial for
us, the Manipuri people, to uncover the true cause of this
bloody crisis,” Rinku said. He
added that this crisis has revealed attempts by certain
vested interests to distort our
former nation. Manipur’s integ-
rity has been threatened time
and again, despite its merger
with the Indian Union through
an agreement. It appears that
some individuals who could
have prevented this crisis are
content, as they believe their
mission to divide Manipur will
finally succeed. The Burmese
attempted this from 1819 to 1826
but failed. The government
sowed division among the
people when granting statehood to Manipur. Now, Kuki
armed militants openly advocate for separate administration
to divide Manipur into pieces.
However, they have forgotten
that the dream of dividing
Manipur will never succeed as
long as the Meitei and other indigenous communities of the
state remain united. Today, the
youth of Manipur will continue
their activism to protect our
former nation at all costs.
Joychandra Konthoujam,
the President of the United
Committee Manipur (UCM),
also spoke at the event and
stressed the need to increase
our indigenous population. He
expressed concern over the declining population of indigenous people. If we do not increase our birth rate, we will face
the risk of being dominated by
other ethnic groups in the next
50 years. The youth are the pillars of our future, and we must
educate them for what lies
ahead.
Asem Prince, the Convenor
of MAYOL, stated that the vol-
unteers reached Sekmai on the
first day and stayed at Parja
Higher Secondary School last
night. They began their march
this morning and arrived at
Konthoujam Leirembi around 11
am. “We appreciate the support
of the local people as we pass
through their villages. Many
people, including youths, elders,
and Meira Paibi members, participated in the march, chanting
slogans like ‘Let us unite for tomorrow’ and ‘We will no longer
face devastation.’ We know that
the local people and the people
of Manipur support us. Since
May 3, the Kuki narco terrorists
have initiated violence, but we
promise to face them with our
strength,” Asem Prince said.
The long march will proceed
towards Nambol this afternoon.
