The Rajya Sabha MP lodges a complaint with police against “self-styled president of IHRA, Manipur” and demands severe punishment “so that the citizen of this country does not lose hope in law”
TFM Desk
Member of Rajya Sabha Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba on May 29 lodged a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Imphal East, Manipur against Mark T Haokip, self-styled president of International Human Rights Association, Manipur & Coordinator Myanmar.
In his complaint, Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba has accused Mark T Haokip of distorting the history of Manipur for the purpose of creating communal tension and disharmony to achieve his objective to disintegrate the territory of Union of India and causing serious threat to the security of the state and also for abusing my ancestor namely (Late) Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh.
Drawing the attention of the Imphal East SP, the MP maintained that “Mark T Haokip through his social media platform posted some perverted remarks, thereby abusing my ancestor namely (Late) Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh and also by misinterpreting the Merger Agreement which was signed between Manipur and Union of India and this has hurt my sentiment to the care of my heart.”
He said, “I have come across an undated viral post of Mark Thangmang Haokip, wherein he openly stated my name and quoted that “Does Maharaja Leisemba, MP forget the size of their kingdom merged into the Union of India by his forefathers? Tell him it was just only 700 sq.mi. Not an inch of Hill was included in the merger…”
“This post not only challenged my being but also questioned the legacy of my forefathers who laid down their lives for the very existence of our erstwhile kingdom. The said post has an ill intention of disintegrating the territory of the Union of India, his ulterior motive of the said post is to claim that their land is still independent and is not included in the Union of India. This statement not only made him an offender but an enemy of the State,” he added.
He also said that Mark Thangmang Haokip has posted various comments and posts, which are quite derogatory in nature and incites feelings of hatred, enmity, etc., amongst different classes of society.
As per the complaint, on 17-04-2021, Mark Thangmang Haokip also uploaded a post wherein he stated that “The merger agreement of Manipur with the Indian Union was signed between the Maharaja Manipur Shri (1) Bodha Chandra Singh and Shri. V.P. Menon, Advisor to the Government of India, Ministry of States, on behalf of the Dominion of India on 21st September, 1949 at Shillong, in which the Maharaja of Manipur surrendered his territory, titles, authority, rights and privileges except his personal properties and religious rites, and received a sum of 3 lakhs per year. Thus, the sovereignty and independence of Manipur as a country came to an end on the date the Maharaja appended his signature on the historic merger agreement.
The total area of Manipur merger agreement covered was the territory of 700 square miles or 6,500 paris/hectares.
No merger of the tribal chiefs and their territories.
The power and the authorities of Tribes Chiefs are supreme in the land of the tribes in Manipur.
They are the lords of the sail within the territory they occupied, ruled and governed. They collected taxes and levies from their subjects independently.
So, the merger agreement signed by the Manipuri Maharaja did not cover the territory occupied by the tribal chiefs and their subjects, because the Maharaja of Manipur was not a tribal representative who had authority to act on their behalf and the tribals were not his subjects.
At the same time the accession instrument signed on 21 September, 1949 did not cover the hill areas which have been a separate entity.
The merger of Manipur to India in 1949 testified that all the ruling Chiefs and notable native States of British India except the ruling Chiefs of the Tribals in outer Manipur are merged with India.”
The Maharaja said the statements made by Mark Thangmang Haokip by distorting history of the country from time to time carries separatist and anti-national agenda of forming and propagating a separate country for the Kuki community and for the said agenda advocated by him large number of youths from the Kuki community are now misguided and it has resulted to large scale violence and communal tension in the State.
He also stated that the peace-loving innocent people of Manipur are now infested with distrust and communal hatred in view of which even planting of trees in forest areas have become a communal issue. Apprehension of such an anti-social person had led to large-scale violence in Churachandpur and other Districts in which many public properties were destroyed and many policemen were grievously hurt, he added.
He maintained that this is the reason why “we as a society have failed as such accused have mostly been let scot-free”.
He urged the SP to register an FIR against Mark Thangmang Haokip and give him severe punishment “so that the citizens of this country do not lose hope in law”. He also requested the SP to take necessary legal action against Mark T Haokip, who is a habitual offender, for the ends of justice.