Imphal | September 1 : Due to the bandh called in the hill districts of Manipur, inter-state transporters both passengers and goods and inter-district buses did not ply along the roads including both the national highways leading to Manipur today. The dawn to dusk bandh was called by the Indigenous Democratic Front demanding fixing of election dates to hold the autonomous district councils in the five hill districts of Manipur. There were no reports of any untoward incident during the bandh.
Meanwhile, at any time the Indigenous Democratic Front (IDF) will take up democratic form of agitations if the government stays indifferent to the legitimate demand of the people to hold early elections to the Autonomous District Council in Manipur, warned the IDF leaders.
Thanking the people for their unflinching support while congratulating all the IDF members for the success of the general strike called by the IDF to pressurize the government for early elections to the ADC and de-centralization of power, the press release stated that the outcome is a positive sign that people of the hill areas of Manipur are awakened into the necessity of having a self governing system for themselves. It is for this reason that the aim and object of the IDF is to evolve a system of governance based on indigenous democracy which best benefits the indigenous/tribal people living in Manipur, it stated.
Regarding the negative reaction of some social organization to the call given by IDF, the release stated that they have every right to do so as it is the spirit of democracy. However, it pointed out, it should also be noted that if traditional bodies stop to be receptive to new ideas they will become irrelevant and like custom, when majority do not pay habitual obedience to their authority those organizations will sink into oblivion.
The release further pointed out that we should be able to move according to the times, and since necessity is the architect of change it will be a futile exercise if some traditionalists are trying to stop change because IDF’s call is need based. The campaign of IDF for de-centralization of power including holding of ADC elections is receiving a tremendous response from the public, said the release, and added that it looks forward to the same co-operation from the public until the call is achieved.