Imphal, Aug. 22: Taking exception to a question on Dzuko Valley that figured in this year’s UPSC civil services examination, volunteers of Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF) today seized copies of a career guidance magazine for publishing the “controversial question”.

Question number 87 of the geography paper in the preliminary examination had asked candidates to match four valleys with the states. The valleys and states given were Dzuko Valley, Yumthang Valley, Neora Valley and Sangla Valley and Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland and West Bengal respectively.

“According to the question, Dzuko valley belongs to Nagaland, which is objectionable. We demand an apology from the UPSC chairman as well as the publishers of the magazine within seven days,” the secretary general of MSF, Thokchom Bomcha, told reporters. The magazine published the UPSC question paper in its August issue.

The student leader warned that if the publisher failed to withdraw the question and tender an apology within seven days, the MSF would ban the sale of the magazine in Manipur.

Dzuko valley is a bone of contention between Manipur and neighbouring Nagaland. Both states stake claim to the valley. The MSF sent complaints to the UPSC and the publishers of the magazine today.

Volunteers went around Imphal collecting copies of the magazine from newstands and book stores. “We will be keeping the seized magazine copies. If the publishers fail to apologise, we will burn the copies after seven days and impose a total ban on the magazine,” Bomcha said.

Bomcha said showing Dzuko valley as being in Nagaland was nothing but lending support to the Naga claim. Blaming the Manipur government for the wrong question, he said the state government had failed to take up the matter in time.

and defend its boundaries. He said that as a result of the state government’s failure to protect its boundary, its neighbours, including Myanmar, were trying to infringe on its land. Border controversies exist in Chandel, Ukhrul and Jiribam. He demanded that the state government immediately take up measures to clearly demarcate Manipur’s boundary and resolve the controversy.