Medical services, religious ceremonies and essential services will not be within the purview of the shutdown.
TFM Desk
Alliance for Socialist Unity (ASUK), a body representing proscribed groups has announced a total shutdown from 6 am to 6 pm on August 15.
A release signed by its S Mangal, Convenor, Publicity Committee, ASUK said that medical services, religious ceremonies and essential services will not be within the purview of the shutdown.
ASUK argued that India is observing August 15 this year as its 75th Independence Day and unlike previous years, there is a plan to hoist the Indian flag in every household under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. “For the mainland India, it may be true Independence Day but for Manipur, the occasion is a day to remind that we have lost our freedom”, said ASUK.
Listing numerous ills like dwindling number of Indigenous peoples, immigrant influx, the menace of drug addiction and trade, poor economic conditions that have made the people beggars, corruption, impoverished society with no leaders and followers etc., ASUK said that future of the society is being jeopardized due to degenerated education system and parasitical sections of the society. These are the challenges faced by the society with no adequate capacity to respond, said ASUK.
“The responsibility to meet these challenges should be taken up by the creative minority within the society. However, till today even our revolutionary leaders have not been able to give a befitting reply to the challenges mentioned above”, claimed ASUK and alleged that this was the result of the “Indian colonialism”.
“The only relationship Manipur has with Indian Independence Day is the effort to erase our collective historical memory” said ASUK and pointed out that the people’s sense of historical narrative is still running strong.