In his message on the 46th Raising Day of PREPAK(Pro)’s Red Army, Longjam Paliba M said, “it is important to know India’s deceitful economic and subduing policies which show their intention to perpetuate the colonization of Manipur.”
TFM Desk
On the 46th Raising Day of the Red Army of proscribed People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Progressive) [PREPAK(Pro)], its Chairman Longjam Paliba M on Sunday maintained that their liberation struggle has nothing to do with the lack of economic development in the state. “We as armed insurgents have nothing to say and fret about the paucity of India’s developmental activities in Manipur. We neither demanded the rollback of such activities as well,” he said in his message to mark the occasion.
“However, it is important to know India’s deceitful economic and subduing policies which show their intention to perpetuate the colonization of Manipur,” he added. He appealed to the Kangleichas not to fall prey to the seemingly beneficial but illusory policies of the government.
He also paid his tribute to salute all the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives in the course of liberation movements and also extend his greetings and good wishes to all Kangleichas and the fraternal revolutionary organizations.
Sharing his views and thinking on the occasion, the chairman said as the adage goes “The first impression is the last impression”, the events such as the Annexation in 1949, the humiliation of constitutional monarchy with demoted Part-C state, swift repeal of the Permit System, and utilization of teensy development funds of about Rs.1 Crore in the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) illustrate the premeditated India’s anti-Manipuri mind-sets.
“But most importantly, I must say that their arrogant and expansionist policies had ignited the anti-India armed struggle,” he said.
The chairman further said over the course of 28 years from 1951 to 1974 and 1980 to 1985, India had allowed Manipur to utilise around Rs 301 crore from the plan outlay. It is ludicrous that the cumulative development fund over the period of 28 years was below the yearly monetary loss of about Rs 400 crore in terms of agricultural products due to the submergence of arable fertile lands induced by the Loktak project, he added.
Pointing out that even during British rule, it was estimated that Manipur’s yearly agricultural surplus was around 25%, the chairman said, “However, since the Ithai barrage inundated around 80,000 hectares of fertile arable land, Manipur has been surviving on food import.” In the past, Moirang and its surrounding villages was a prosperous region with a rich culture; however, the project has been contributing to endless economic hardships, he added.
Longjam Paliba M further said the Loktak project, which began in 1971 just before Manipur was granted illusionary statehood, was designed with a false promise to give every household electrical power. In the real sense this project aimed to earn huge profits for the Centre at the expense of Manipur. It was hastily implemented while there was no responsible government to participate in the initial decision-making process, which ultimately neglected the Socio-economic costs. Still, the state government could not say anything, let alone decommissioning it, he maintained.
In the name of development, it is certain that Delhi agents had started the dependency strategy ahead of time, he added.
The chairman also said after the end of Second World War and post British colonial period, the geopolitical and geo-economics position of Manipur was somewhat in turmoil. Exploiting the situation, the Indian government colonized Manipur in 1949. Imitating the British’s policy of divisive Hills and Plain administration, India intentionally misinterpreted the hills insurgency’s anger as against the Meeteis by introducing the polarising clauses in Article 371-C, he added.
“This is nothing but to reverse our aged old assimilated history as to align the unrealistic ‘Unity in Diversity’ which is the Idea of India. Yet, there are apprehensions among the Meeteis when it comes to the search for the Naga insurgency solution. Following the illegal dissolution of the elected people’s government of 1948, Delhi inducted Manipur as their political playground and vigorously implemented their neo-colonialist policies in 1949-1971. These 22 years is the darkest period, during which the colonial seed of India was planted,” he claimed.
Arguing that an eccentric system of securitization of development was implemented freely while state governments were side-lined, the chairman said the North East Council (NEC) was founded in 1971 to promote the balanced development of socio-economic conditions in the North-eastern region. The council was placed under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) with state governors as the only members. Later, it was upgraded to M-DONOR but remained under the purview of MoHA. Since 1949, Manipur has not been a civil state, but a militarized state. In any militarized state, an armed revolution occurs naturally. It is absurd to set up a choice between development and insurgency by putting the cart before the horse, he added.
Criticising the Indian leaders, the PREPAK Pro chairman said the art of lying is essential for becoming an elected Indian leader as one must be able to convince the common people through fudging election manifestos. Plato and Socrates once said that a perfect and ideal administration requires a “Noble Lie”. This noble lie is followed illogically by the Indian leaders, he added.
On India’s “Atmanirbhar” policy, the chairman said based on the rhetoric of self-reliance, the policy commends Khadi cloth as nationalistic item whose wearing was once seen as a symbol that compelled the British to retreat from India. However, it is irony that the almost all of the Indian ‘Tiranga’ flags, hoisted recently at every Indian house, were mostly made from Chinese polyester clothes, he added.
The chairman further said it was almost a debacle trying to establish a Socialist Republic of India using mixed and planned economic policies for forty years between 1951 and 1991. These periods created a wealthy class of politicians and bureaucrats, while the destitute classes were expanded. As a result, Nehru’s popular phrase “the tryst with destiny” became “the tryst with desolation”. In 1991, India greeted with rousing fanfare the Western colonialist recycled Neoliberal Economic Policy. Under this neoliberal policy, several profitable and public good units were handed over to a few wealthy Indians. India has become a Crony Capitalist nation under the thumb of ruling elite politicians and wealthy people. It is now ranked at the 9th position in the index of crony-capitalism in the world, he added.
He maintained that India follows the trickle-down economic policy, which is nothing but to leave the vast majority poor Indian at the mercy of few wealthy classes. Under this policy, the construction of roads and bridges, the exploration of natural resources and railway services are all privatized. The Constitutional Declaration of India as the Socialist Democratic Republic is undeniable proof that India ridicules the Idea of India. Despite the promises of a few deceptive socialist programs under the election agenda, India is now becoming an Oligarchy, he added.
Claiming that during the pandemic, Indian billionaires doubled their wealth to Rs. 57.3 lakh crore, the chairman said 11 Indian billionaires amassed enough wealth amid pandemic which can cover the health budget or MGNREGA for 10 years. China has made a significant contribution to alleviating poverty around the world, while India has raised poverty levels by 57% in the last two years. Paradoxically, 40 Indian billionaires were listed in World Billionaires Club during the second wave of Pandemic while the crematoriums were overcrowded with dead bodies. Several allegations are coming out that Covid-19 is not a pandemic but rather a “Plandemic” designed to earn huge profits by global pharma mafias, including India, he added.
He also said wealthy people are turning the education system into a commodity to earn more profits. So-called education systems dominate the teaching responsibilities of family elders regarding traditional values, disciplines, and social values. The surge of drug addiction among the youth is due to the lack of coordination between the family and school education system.
Asserting that the Manipur State Assembly condemned the controversial “The Merger Agreement” on 28 September 1949, the chairman said, “We also continue to condemn it; there were public resolutions calling it an “Illegal Merger Agreement” in 1993 and 1996.” On 29 October 2019, one group namely ‘the Manipur State Council’ also declared Manipur’s independence before the international media in London. These condemnations and declarations offer profound insights into the true nature of Manipur-India relations, he added.
The so-called elected representative must extrapolate the root causes of this 73-year-old political conflict. Celebration of surrender drama and bragging about the disappearing number of Anti-Indian people are all the reflections of the voices of the delusional Delhi-nightmare induced leaders, he said
Before it becomes too late for the legislative assembly to become a gossip mill, it must serve as a democratic temple to discourse on resolving the chronic socio-political problems created by India, the induced food dependence projects, and the erroneous education system that needs to be corrected, read the statement.