Citizens for Justice, Manipur (CFJM) today held a press briefing at the Manipur Press Club to announce that it has submitted a memorandum to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, expressing grave concern over the ongoing demand for a separate administration in Kuki-dominated areas of the state.
Speaking at the briefing, Senior Advocate Khaidem Mani, Chairperson of CFJM and former Acting Chairperson of the Manipur Human Rights Commission, said that such a demand posed “a direct threat to India’s national security, constitutional foundations, and the sovereign rights of its citizens.” He was joined by Aribam Noutuneshwari Devi, Advocate at the High Court of Manipur and former District & Sessions Judge, who underlined that the present crisis in Manipur was not merely an inter-ethnic clash but a “demographically engineered communal crisis” exacerbated by unchecked undocumented immigration from across the border. Sorokhaibam Rabindra Singh, Advocate and Convenor of CFJM, added that conceding to ethnic exclusivity would undermine secularism, equality, and the unity of the nation.
The CFJM leaders informed the press that their memorandum urged the President to reject outright the demand for separate administration on ethnic lines, stressing that Article 3 of the Constitution could not be used to reward communal politics. They called for urgent steps such as the constitution of a high-level National Commission of Inquiry into demographic manipulation, strict verification of citizenship in affected districts, deportation of illegal immigrants, background checks in government recruitments, and a temporary freeze on reservation-based recruitment in districts showing unnatural demographic growth.
The press briefing concluded with an appeal to the Union Government to recognize the Manipur crisis as an existential threat to constitutional order rather than a mere law-and-order problem, and to intervene in order to uphold India’s sovereignty, integrity, and secular democratic character.