IT News
Imphal, June 11:
Manipur Students’ Association Delhi President Shaikhom Chingkheinganba in a press release stated that Leishemba Sanajaoba is free to practice his politics in the Indian electoral system. But he cannot do it as the Titular King of Manipur. His kingship represents cultural symbolism and the existence of Manipur’s national identity. King as the cultural symbolism includes the significance of the institution as serving the bond of mutual relationship between the Hill and Valley. Primary critique is not against Sanajaoba but his attempt to delegitimize our erstwhile political sovereignty. The status of the king became the Head of the State (titular king) with the establishment of a democratic republic under the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947. In his capacity as the Constitutional Head, treaties with other sovereign nation were concluded in his name for instance – the Merger Agreement. 1947. Other matters of external affairs relating to war & peace were done in the name of King. I:ven as the constitutional head, the office of the King represented the sovereign independent existence and national identity of Manipur. This is the political significance of the institution of kingship. The cultural sovereignty which he holds today was a necessary embodiment of the erstwhile political sovereignty. Cultural symbol extends beyond the political where we must pay attention. The fate of the hills and valley are joined here. The king can be installed with someone from the hills after Sanajaoba left it said.
It added that when Manipur was forcefully merged to the Indian Slate in 1949, the political authority of the king was lost. Present Titular King represents the Manipur nation with no political authority. It provides historical proof to the people’s movement that we were a sovereign nation with complex political life. The institution or kingship is inherently intertwined with the aspirations of the people of Manipur and their struggles for a democratic way of life. The concept of monarchy is not acceptable. Space of the monarch is not the mere form of king and its subjects. It represents I living symbol of an erstwhile Independent Manipur, It reminds lo all of us that Manipur was a sovereign nation which had lis own constitution, and parliamentary form of government. For million people, their loyalty is not lo the palace but to the complex political life challenging the Indian colonising forces it added.
