Nov 20, 2025 (Imphal): The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) expresses condemnation against the police crackdown and action during the demonstration march towards the main venue of the Sangai Festival in Imphal near Palace Gate this afternoon and called upon the public to participate in a mass sit-in demonstration on November 21 as a collective assertion that fundamental rights and security cannot be traded for a tourism spectacle.
The statement issued by the CSO said the police also manhandled, brutally charged, and arrested its IPR Convenor, Laikhuram Jayenta, and active volunteer of the committee, Shamurailatpam Devadutta, who is still untraceable till the release of this statement.
COCOMI stated it criticised “the Governor-led administration operating under President’s Rule for pushing forward an anti-people Sangai Festival 2025 without the consent, cooperation, or confidence of the people of Manipur.” At a time when thousands of our own people remain displaced, when normalcy is yet to be restored, and when the wounds of violence are still fresh, the State’s insistence on an extravagant festival is insensitive, misplaced, and against the wishes of the people.
The statement also questioned the rationale of organising a festival intended to “promote the image of the state” when many citizens are unable to return home or exercise basic freedoms. It argued that a celebratory tourism event cannot serve any meaningful purpose in a society still grieving, divided, and struggling for dignity and safety.
The committee also asked who truly stands to benefit from the festival at this moment and suggested that the decision appears disconnected from the sentiments and hardships of the people.
The statement added that the priorities of the administration must focus on restoring peace, ensuring free movement of all communities, enabling the safe return of displaced families, and refraining from any action that suppresses public voices. COCOMI asserted that ignoring these concerns could render governance irrelevant to the lives and aspirations of the people it claims to represent.
