The Kukis of the state will be celebrating the Kuki Rising Day on Saturday following its inclusion in the lists of state restricted holidays after the state government made the official declaration on December 3, 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kuki Rising Day could not be celebrated on October 17 last and the felicitation programme of declaration of the day as ‘restricted holiday’ was cancelled last year.
In connection with the celebration, the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) said, “we dedicate the Kuki Rising Day now as the Restricted Holiday of Manipur in the memory of our ‘Great Kuki Warriors’ who fought to defend our freedom and our land.”
Indeed it is a matter of great joy that the state government under the capable and dynamic leadership of chief minister Nongthombam Biren has finally accorded due recognition of the saga of the bravery and heroic sacrifices of the great Kuki warriors to raise the banner of revolt against the mighty imperial Raj, stated KIM.
It continued, “it is also our earnest hope that the assurance for construction of Kuki Rising Memorial Park and inclusion of the accounts of The Kuki War of Independence/Kuki Rising in our state school syllabus (textbooks) would soon be translated into action as it will help us realise the spirit of patriotism and heroic deed of our forefathers.”
Recalling the Kuki Uprising that took place during WW-I, KIM further stated that Kuki forefathers refused to join the Imperial Army’s Labour Corps. They were independent from outside interference and prided themselves in people who never bowed down.
It further stated that from 2017 till 2019, the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary Celebration committee under the aegis of the KIM commemorated the proud spirit of the great rebel chiefs and ancestors with a three-year-long commemorative programme in all the Kuki inhabited areas.
