Manipur groups call shutdown against State’s 1949 merger with India

Seven banned armed groups in Manipur have called for a 12-hour shutdown on October 15 to observe “National Black Day” in protest against the State’s merger with the Indian Union in 1949.

These groups, largely comprising the Meitei people of Imphal Valley, said essential services, including medical emergencies, media operations and religious activities, will be exempted from the shutdown.

Six of these groups are constituents of the umbrella Coordination Committee. They are the Kangleipak Communist Party, Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), PREPAK-Pro, Revolutionary People’s Front and United National Liberation Front.

The seventh group, Socialist Revolutionary Party, called for a shutdown against the 1949 merger in a separate statement.