Proposal to lay foundation stone of worship at Mt Koubru protested
Source: The Sangai Express

Kangpokpi, December 03 2020: Hundreds of people in Kangpokpi district demonstrated against the plan to lay the foundation stone for construction of a Temple at the peak of Mt Koubru by Mahousa KNBA Lup.

The protesters held placards which read, "Preserve Mt Koubru, Preserve coexistence", "Mt Koubru is for all Lords not just Lord Koubru", "Maintain religious status quo", "Lai Pukhri for Hindu is Twitheng for Christian," etc.

An invitation for laying the foundation stone for construction of a temple in the presence of MP Sanajaoba Singh, the titular King of Kangleipak under the aegis of Mahousa KNBA Lup went viral on the social media a few days back.

In connection with this, the Committee on Protection and Preservation of Mt Koubru (COPPK) which was established in 2016 and officially launched in 2018 by the then Social Welfare and Cooperation Minister Nemcha Kipgen informed the public that no Church, no Temple and no Mosque shall he constructed at Mt Koubru.

It had also clearly made it known that the committee would not in any manner allow or agree on any terms and conditions to erect nor lay foundation stone based on Church, Temple or Mosque at Mt Koubru.

COPPK had further advised all concerned Mahousa KNBA Lup to respect and acknowledge the 'status quo' of Mt Koubru stating that it [Mt Koubru] should not become a 'bone of contention and contestation' irrespective of caste, creed, language and faith for peace and harmony.

It had also asserted that no platform or forum or community should try to claim ownership of Mt Koubru based on particular religion or faith while advising the Mahousa KNBA Lup to withdraw or cancel such program of laying a religious based foundation stone as it may affect the ecological balance and may prove detrimental to the interests of peace and harmony between different faith and communities in the State.

The stand of COPPK was endorsed and supported by various chief’s association and organizations including the Kuki Inpi, Kangpokpi district the next day.

Thangminlen Kipgen, the newly elected general secretary of Kuki Inpi Kangpokpi district said that "we have submitted a written memorandum to the Chief Minister who conveyed his ignorance of the program through the president Kuki Inpi Manipur" .

He continued that Chief Minister N Biren Singh told the KIM president that such program and plan of laying foundation stone at Mt Koubru was organized without his knowledge and also assured that he would request those responsible to consult him and the office of the Chief Minister before going ahead with the program.

The Kuki Inpi Kangpokpi district therefore once again appealed Chief Minister N Biren Singh to look into the religious sentiments of all and not just a few while maintaining the status quo of Mt Koubru.

He also said that while the program of Mahousa KNBA Lup is considered to be in favour of one particular religion, several complaints have been brought to "us that construction of such a temple at Mt Koubru is going to affect greatly the religious sentiments of the majority Christians in the area because the Christian community never bow before the Temple and never bow before idols" .

He continued that along with support and initiative of COPPK, "we find it very reasonable that there should be no human activity and no human intervention in the already disturbed ecological environment of Mt Koubru".

He further said that if issue is not sorted out by the Government "we would not be able to hold our people back and the Government would be solely responsible in case any untoward incident arises out of such activity" .

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