Normal life was severely hit in all valley districts of Manipur due to a day-long total shutdown and general strike organized by several armed rebel groups in protest of the state’s merger with India on October 15, 1949.
Shops, business establishments, and markets remain shut during the total shutdown. Public transport services were suspended, with only a limited number of private vehicles on the roads.
Inter-district public transport services are also suspended today.
The Coordinating Committee (CorCom), a coalition comprising at least five banned outfits, SOREPA, and ASUK among others called total shutdown and enforced 12 hours general strike today. Separate statements of the CorCoM, SOREPA, and ASUK had urged people to abstain from all forms of celebrations and movements on Sunday.
Notably, media, medical, and emergency services were exempted from the strike’s purview to ensure that essential services continued uninterrupted.
The backdrop for this strike lies in the historical event where Manipur’s Maharaj Budhachandra signed the merger agreement with India on September 21, 1949, which officially took effect on October 15 of the same year. This day has since been observed as a “Black Day” by militant groups and has been a central driving force behind the insurgency movement in the northeastern state.