Imphal, Aug. 11: A citizens' group in the Manipur valley has demanded the restoration of Manipur's pre-merger status and implementation of the Instrument of Accession 1947.

A daylong discourse on Manipur Nationhood and Instrument of Accession 1947 organised here today by the Coalition for Indigenous Rights Campaign (CIRCA called for pre-merger status and restoration of the Instrument of Accession, which was signed between then king Bodhchandra and Dominion of India on this day in 1947.

Under the act, the power of defence, external affairs and communication were given to the Dominion of India while the rest were in the power of the state on the lines of shared sovereignty.

The Manipur State Constitution Act was adopted in July 1947 and the first elections to the state legislative Assembly were held in 1948 under the Constitution Act. King Bodhchandra signed the merger agreement on September 21, 1949, and Manipur was merged on October 15, 1949.

Speakers at the discourse included rights activists, research scholars and a lawyer who blamed the signing of the merger agreement that brought Manipur under the Indian Union, for all the unrest and problems raging in the state today.

"The problems faced by the state like population influx, militancy, sectarian movements and threat to the existence of the indigenous people are the fallout of the merger agreement. The restoration of pre-merger status and Instrument of Accession could provide a solution to all these problems," Ningthouja Lancha, the spokesperson for the citizens' group, said.

Representatives of the state government held talks with the United Naga Council (UNC) on the latter's demand for rollback of the creation of seven new districts last year.

Both sides agreed to continue the talks next month.

The UNC is opposing the inclusion of Naga villages under the new districts, as the group has been demanding an alternative administrative arrangement for Nagas living in the hills of Manipur.

The demand is seen as a part of the NSCN (I-M)'s demand for integration of all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with Nagaland.

Militant groups in tripartite talks with the state government and the Centre have been demanding the creation of a Kuki state.

As the UNC and state government were having talks in the presence of joint secretary home (Northeast) Satyendra Garg in Senapati town on the district issue, the Kukis of newly created Kangpokpi district took out a rally in the district today against any move to rollback the move.

Kangpokpi was carved out of Senapati district.

"The Instrument of Accession could even be the framework for the solution to the problem of militancy," K. Sanatomba, a research associate at the Southeast Asia Study Centre of Manipur University, said.

Law researcher Sapam Dilip also highlighted the threat to the Meiteis in the valley because of population influx and the threat to the territorial integrity of the state.