Photo of Chivu Lake near the controversial Chadrakirti Memorial Park, Indo-Myanmar Border.
17 May 2020
From:
Tribal Intellectual Forum, Manipur
To:
Shri
N. Biren Singh
Chief
Minister of Manipur
Imphal,
Manipur 795001
Subject:
Urgent and open appeal to de-notify and withdraw Chibu Stone Inscription and
stop constructing Chandrakirti Memorial Park at Chivu at the Indo-Myanmar
border
Dear Hon’ble Biren Singhji:
Warmest greetings! Hope this letter find you in the
best of your health.
We, the undersigned under
the rubric of Tribal Intellectual Forum, Manipur, are deeply concerned and
disturbed over the unusual enthusiasm shown by you and your government in the
midst of Covid19 outbreak to edify and use the site of Chibu Stone Inscription
as a proxy to construct a Memorial Park after the name of the controversial
king, Chandrakirti Singh at Chivu, near Behiang in the Indo-Myanmar border.
While we appreciate and welcome your effort to promote tourism and development
through Behiang in the Indo-Myanmar border as a part of India’s Act East
Policy, your calculated move to use Chandrakirti Memorial Park as a mascot to
promote tourism and development not only contradicts your professed avowal on Chingmi-tammi
amatani (hill-valley people are one) but may also endanger inter-communal
peace, harmony, and the promotion of tourism and development at large in
Manipur. In our considered opinion, which is duly supported by dense colonial
historical records, your pet project to promote Chandrakirti Memorial Park
around the pivotal site of Chibu Stone Inscription, which is protected under
the Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains Act, 1976, stems from a willful distortion and manipulation of
history. Unless you are really keen and determined to perpetuate this
manipulated and distorted history as a proxy to snatch away tribal land, open
up a deep historical wound and willfully insult the dignity, self-respect and
pride of the tribal people, we request you to immediately abandon this project,
de-notify and withdraw the Chibu Stone Inscription under the 1976 Act mentioned
above. Please allow us to elaborate.