Imphal: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) against Anti-Tribal Bills plans to organize a mass mourning and prayer program on June 26 to mark the 300th day of the tribal movement, according to a statement released on Friday.
Tribal people from across Manipur, a northeastern Indian state, will attend the program.
“June 26 (Sunday) will mark the 300th day of the tribal movement, our unwavering fight for protection of our ancestral tribal lands, our rights and our identity from the covetous hands of the dominant valley-dwelling community jointly which is backed by the communal government and CorCom, a conglomerate of proscribed Meitei underground groups,” the statement said.
The resentment and gash between the hills and valley people is a clear indication that the tribal people of Manipur no longer see any safe and promising future under the present Manipur and hence the tribal people look forward to a separate destiny for themselves, it said.
With the mortal remains of “our nine tribal martyrs still awaiting an honorable burial, our fight for our rights, and our struggle for self-determination is far from over,” the JAC said.
The committee has requested all Manipur tribal churches and fellowships across the globe to observe it as a worldwide mourning day by organizing mourning program and mass prayer.
The committee plans to being the main program 1 pm at Hiangtam under Lamka, the epicenter of the movement.
The JAC also postponed its decision to send a delegation of tribal chiefs and family members of the “tribal martyrs” to Delhi on the 300th day of the movement.