Imphal, March 30: North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) condemns the recent statement by Manipur Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh at Madhavpur terming it as an aim to distort the history of Manipur.
A statement of the Forum said that the statement by Chief Minister aims to establish a mythological connection between the mainland India and the North-East, which is informed by the version presented by RSS. The statement reveals servility to the cause of spreading singular RSS vision of India, which distorts the actual history of North-East people in particular and that of India in general, it added.
“Politically, the statement can be understood as part of the design of RSS to make people of North-East come around to its idea of ‘One Nation, One Identity’ which eschews the multi-faceted history of the North-East people and thereby serves as a tool to strengthen its foray into the North-East. Clearly, the aim is to suppress actual issues of the people behind portrayals of such identity. Moreover, the statement can be seen as part of nefarious campaign to ‘rewrite Indian history’ wherein history is made subservient to the aim of propagating the superiority of a particular religion and culture, and other cultures are subsumed within it. The trend can increasingly be witnessed after BJP’s coming to power at the centre. The name of Arunachal Pradesh which has absolutely no linguistic connection with the eponymous land can be seen as an appropriate example. Also, in the present case the mythology of Rukmini which is alien to Arunachal Pradesh is being narrated to show its connection with mainland India. In the process, the actual traditions and folklore of Arunachal Pradesh are being sidelined”, the NEFIS statement said.
In the statement NEFIS demanded immediate apology from Manipur Chief Minister.
