A NONVIOLENT LEADER IN PERIL: Leitanthem Umakanta Meitei is a lawyer and human rights defender in Manipur, a state in NE India that borders Burma (Myanmar). Umakanta is Secretary General of the Threatened Indigenous Peoples Society (TIPS) and the elected spokesperson of Apunba Lup, a coalition of 34 civil society organizations representing the 1.7 million indigenous Meitei people in Manipur.
Umakanta says, “We, the Meitei people of Manipur, are not asking for special treatment. We are merely asking for the same treatment that all other citizens in India have the right to enjoy. We want [martial law] to be repealed and the daily threat of armed conflict in our region be renounced. We want an equal voice in the government of India.”
URGENT NEED: We are seeking $10,000 in tax-deductible contributions to cover the unfunded portion of a conflict resolution graduate program for Umakanta in the U.S. All funds given to Land is Life for this purpose will go directly to his education.
HEAVY MILITARY & POLICE PRESENCE: Manipur was forcibly annexed to India in 1949 and has been under martial law since 1960. The military and police force in Manipur are a constant threat, responsible for a pattern of arbitrary arrest, illegal detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and killings. Umakanta has been arrested, detained, and tortured on multiple occasions due to his human rights work. (No charges have ever been brought.) He lives in fear for himself and his wife and daughter.
UMAKANTA’S WORK: Umakanta and his organization are using Gandhi’s nonviolent tactics to halt human rights abuses and lift martial law. He has advocated for his people in meetings with officials in India, including the Prime Minister and the U.S. Consul in Kolkata. For years, he has taken his people’s cause to the UN and other international meetings concerning indigenous issues. Umakanta’s organization has mobilized thousands of people to rise up in nonviolent protest against human rights abuses in Manipur. Yet the government refuses to stop (and will not even investigate) the official violence against the Meitei people.
UMAKANTA’S OPPORTUNITY: Umakanta is seeking new skills to bring peace to his corner of the world. He has been accepted into a highly acclaimed graduate program in Conflict Transformation at World Learning in Brattleboro, VT. The program has offered him a partial scholarship for the 2008-2009 school year, beginning September 2008. We need to raise funds to cover the rest of the cost or Umakanta will be unable to attend.
TO DONATE: To help fund Umakanta’s graduate program, go to DONATE in the right-hand MENU box. If you inform us by email (or on your check if you send a donation) that you wish to support Umakanta, we will put 100% of your gift to that purpose.
