Imphal: Thousands of people in Manipur took to the streets on February 6 for the common future of the northeastern Indian state and its people.

They resolved to uphold the integrity of the state, while urging the Indian government to acknowledge the people’s aspirations.

Leaders of different communities, students, representatives of political parties, members of voluntary organizations took part in the rally.

State agencies pegged the number of rallyists at about 50,000 but organizers claimed more than 200,000 people attended the rally.

Slogans such as ‘the integrity of Manipur should not be compromised,’ ‘hill and valley people are one and the same’ ‘long live Manipur,’ were raised by the rallyists.

The rallyists carried festoons and placards.

At a public meeting, the rallyists adopted four resolutions — integrity of Manipur will never be compromised and the Indian government should respect the stand of the people.

The Indian government should drop its divide and rule policy, vis-a-vis the hill and valley people and all the indigenous people of the land share the same mother and no force should dilute this fact.

It was also resolved to oppose any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Manipur by its neighboring states.

Giving the key note address, United Committee Manipur (UCM) general secretary YK Dhiren said that the programs aimed to meet repeated threats to the age-old unity of the people, co-operation among them and the respect they have for each other’s traditions.

It is also to chart out a way for a common future of the people and a united land, he added.

The leader regretted continued attempts to sow the seeds of discord among the people, reports thesangaiexpress.com.

Even though people profess different language, religions and traditions, all are steadfast in their stand to collectively oppose any design to threaten the land and the people. The Indian government should never forget that it is this oneness which has enabled the land and the people to live together as one for centuries, added Dhiren.

No one should try to sow the seeds of divide among the different communities in the name of taking up developmental works, he said and added that if the Indian government thinks of developing any part of Manipur, it should be done in consultation with the state government.

Dhiren welcomed the Indian government acknowledging the Naga issue, but added such a move should not threaten Manipur’s integrity.

Since 1964, the Nagaland State Assembly has taken five resolutions to bring all the Naga inhabited areas under one administrative unit. The last such resolution was adopted in February 2015, he said and added that the NSCN (IM) has also been championing this.

However the Indian government should realize that this issue should not cross into any of the neighboring states of Nagaland and no attempts should be made to pass any law or administrative mechanism such as Pan Naga Cultural Body, Supra State, Semi-Parliament etc, cautioned Dhiren.

“We know and acknowledge the role taken up by the civil society organizations and Church bodies to bring peace in Nagaland and likewise they too should respect the sentiments and stand of the people of Manipur,” he added.