Imphal: Manipur faces consecutive shutdowns on October 15, 2026. The Coordination Committee, or CorCom, issued a call for a 12-hour total shutdown from 6 am to 6 pm. Meanwhile, the Socialist Revolutionary Party, or SOREPA, mandated a separate 12-hour protest spanning 5 am to 5 pm. Both groups reject the 1949 merger of Manipur with India.
CorCom media coordinator M. Shak-Hen described the merger as a violation of international law. The group claims Indian forces forced Maharaja Bodhachandra to sign the agreement at his Shillong residence, Redlands, on September 21, 1949. They pointed to a September 18, 1949, telegram from Shri Prakash to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as proof that the Maharaja was blocked from returning home to prevent him from avoiding the agreement. CorCom also alleged the demolition of Redlands in October 2025 was a bid to destroy evidence of this history.
The group argues the merger lacked constitutional validity. Before the October 15, 1949, event, Manipur functioned under the 1947 Manipur State Constitution Act and an elected National Assembly that opened in 1948. CorCom contends that the 1947 Standstill Agreement and Instrument of Accession did not surrender sovereignty beyond specific, limited subjects. “The agreements had not been ratified by a national legislature representing the people of Manipur,” the committee stated.
SOREPA secretary M.C. Yaifabi framed the merger as an act of colonial expansion. The party urged citizens to seek self-determination while building local economic self-reliance. They called for students and intellectuals to study thinkers like Frantz Fanon and Karl Marx to better understand their political struggle. SOREPA explicitly claimed that the current administrative system in the state remains a legacy of British colonial governance.
CorCom exempted medical services, funeral rites, media, and religious affairs from their shutdown. Both organizations view the date as a day of mourning. They are urging the public to support their movement to restore the sovereignty of the state.
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