Athouba says Manipur’s centuries-old Indigenous heritage must be safeguarded against assimilation, displacement, and violence.
BY PC Bureau
August 9, 2025 — Marking World Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025, Khuraijam Athouba, Convenor of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), issued a heartfelt appeal for global action to safeguard Indigenous communities, their languages, and their ancestral lands.
In a statement released ahead of his participation as a special guest in the New Delhi observance, Athouba expressed solidarity with Indigenous peoples “from the Arctic to the Amazon, from the Pacific Islands to the hills and valleys of Manipur.” He described the day as one of pride and reflection, emphasising that Indigenous survival “has never been guaranteed, yet our resilience has never been broken.”
Athouba, who recently attended the 18th Session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in Geneva, underscored the urgent need to defend linguistic, territorial, and self-determination rights. “We must speak for our languages, our lands, and our right to decide our own future or they will be taken from us,” he warned, calling it “a matter of existence” rather than a mere political demand.
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For Manipur, the day carries special resonance, as it is home to one of South and Southeast Asia’s oldest continuous Indigenous civilizations. The state’s diverse tribes and communities have preserved their unique languages, rituals, and oral histories for centuries, despite waves of cultural assimilation, political upheaval, and armed conflict. Activists see the occasion as an opportunity to reaffirm these traditions and strengthen efforts to pass them on to future generations.
Highlighting Manipur’s centuries-old traditions, scripts, and faiths that have endured despite assimilation, displacement, and violence, Athouba stressed that these challenges mirror those faced by Indigenous peoples worldwide.
The activist urged the international community, governments, and individuals to ensure Indigenous voices are not silenced. “Do not let our lands become someone else’s profit. Do not let our children grow up without their mother tongues,” he said.
Athouba closed his message with a call to Indigenous communities to take pride in their heritage and teach the next generation. “Our survival is not a gift from others—it is the victory of our ancestors and the responsibility of our generation.”
