“One of the many ways to resist Indian colonialism is to ban the celebration of Indian Independence Day on our soil. We also regard peaceful non-cooperation as a significant form of resistance,” the proscribed umbrella group said.
TFM Desk
The proscribed umbrella group Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak (ASUK) has announced a total shutdown in Manipur on August 15, from 6 am to 5 pm.
“One of the many ways to resist Indian colonialism is to ban the celebration of Indian Independence Day on our soil. We also regard peaceful non-cooperation as a significant form of resistance. To make the ban a reality, we call for a total shutdown of the whole state on August 15, 2021, from 6 am to 5 pm. We call upon all people of the state to make this ban a success,” stated a press release issued by the Publicity Committee of the proscribed alliance.
The proscribed group maintained that while India will mark its 75th year of independence on August 15, 2021, the Kangleichas have been subjugated to “Indian colonialism” for almost seven decades. “The awful fact is that nearly every Kanglei people have become so used to colonial realities that they no longer feel obligated to resist any colonial rule” said ASUK.
“We can clearly state that all Kanglei people have lost the fiery desire to seek independence or even fight to regain Kanglepak’s sovereignty”.
The significance of the press statement, ASUK said, lies in its plea to the oppressed people of Kangleipak to resuscitate the same “spirit of resistance so as to create new beings, more human, powerful and authentic”.
“In order to emphasize the need of dismantling the colonial situation once more, we would want to reiterate that it is the colonial situation that renders our lives unworthy of living. Every societal issue we have today, from cultural hybridization to economic imbalance to moral degradation, is a result of Indian colonialism in some manner; thus, when we examine these concerns, we cannot ignore Indian colonialism”, said ASUK.
While stating that the people have lost the will to oppose colonial rule, which is nothing more than surrendering to the terrible realities of colonialism, the alliance said that, in some ways, this may be seen as an abhorrence of freedom or decolonization. ASUK said that this abhorrence of freedom or submission to colonial reality was a result of the colonial tactics of injecting a false consciousness of objective realities into their psychological structure using violent and soft methods.
The use of “army acts” to militarise the state, and large-scale proliferation of nationalisation projects in education beginning from schools, colleges, and universities and mass media are glaring examples, it added.
The proscribed outfit argued that all of this stems from the dreadful “colonial experience”, both at home and on the Indian subcontinent. These Kangleicha, who are browner than the Indians, will be given opportunities by the Indian colonial authorities. As a result, they are opulently wealthy and politically powerful; Indian colonial control in Manipur would not have been feasible without them, it added.
“These people will preach to the masses that the Indian colonizers are our saviors and they are the only means towards growth, peace, and prosperity. As a result, many people no longer consider resisting Indian colonization, believing that poverty is their fate rather than the outcome of an unjust colonial political economy”.
ASUK said that India is a semi-feudal economy marching speedily towards being a fully capitalist state. Indian colonialism is economically propelled by a capitalist system in which social classes are incomprehensibly unequal in terms of economic and social standing. As a result, in the postcolonial age, our society has been firmly rooted in capitalist ideals and practices. As a result of its economic reliance on neo-imperialist India, our society is currently facing acute class strife and inequality.
“This colonial economy we are living in is the reason why many landless peasants in our society are multiple times more economically impoverished than a few wealthy powerful individuals in society”.
This is why many cannot afford basic health care while a few wealthy individuals in society live luxurious lives, ASUK argued. Many individuals die as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because they could not afford proper medical care. This is a direct result of the Indian economic system, which determines all other aspects of Kanglei life and contributes to societal economic disparity, it added.
“We would like to urge all Kangleichas to oppose Indian colonisation. This is the root cause of all socio-political challenges that we have been confronted with in contemporary Kanglei society. All of these challenges can be addressed only if we win the liberation war that we have been waging for a long time in order to reclaim our lost sovereignty and establish an independent socialist society”.