Due to a boycott call given by some student bodies, schools have remained shut in the Manipur capital of Imphal for nearly two months. The indefinite boycott call was given by three student organisations over an incident of a “fake encounter” that led to the death of a reformed rebel and a pregnant woman in Imphal on July 23.

The All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Manipur Students’ Federation (MSF) and Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) have called the boycott in support of an agitation launched by Apunba Lup, an umbrella body of 23 organisations, that has demanded resignation of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh after holding him responsible for large-scale violation of human rights in the form of “fake encounters” in the state in the past few months.

Manipur has about 600 high schools and 40 colleges, nearly half of which are located in the Imphal Valley, and thus affected by the indefinite boycott call given by the three organisations.

“Prolonged denial of education to students is not in the best interest of the community. This boycott has to end at any cost,” said LC Santosh, president of the Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DeSAM), an organisation opposing the boycott. DeSAM has convened a public meeting on November 2 to exert pressure on the authorities to end the boycott by the end of this month.

This is the second initiative in the past two weeks to end the boycott. On October 16, a public meeting attended by senior citizens, teachers, representatives of private schools and guardians had urged the government to end the impasse. A similar meeting was also called by the All Manipur Students Guardians’ Organisation last week.

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