Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: The proscribed National Revolutionary Front Manipur (NRFM) has ordered a 24-hour statewide bandh. It runs from midnight on September 20 to midnight on September 21, 2026. The group aims to protest the 1949 Manipur Merger Agreement signed on September 21, 1949. Essential services remain exempt. Healthcare, water, electricity, and media will continue operating.
Sanajaoba Meitei, the group's information secretary, released the official notice. The outfit claims the deal resulted from coercion. Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh signed it under pressure from the Dominion of India. The group argues the agreement lacked approval from the elected Manipur Legislative Assembly. They believe this invalidates the deal.
Manipur operated under the Manipur State Constitution Act of 1947. This framework governed the state until the formal merger on October 15, 1949. The NRFM notes that the agreement transferred full authority to India without the consent of the legislative bodies established in 1948. They insist the "merger was a key factor behind the emergence of the contemporary armed revolutionary movement in Manipur."
This opposition is not new. The NRFM cites a 1993 National Convention in Imphal that challenged the legality of the merger. The group formed on September 11, 2011, after emerging from three Kangleipak Communist Party factions. Formerly known as the United Revolutionary Front, the organization continues to operate from international bases. They blame recent central government policies for ongoing instability across the region.
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