The banned Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has said that the verdict pronounced by the judicial tribunal for extension of its ban is “not a pursuit to justice but a calculated political act to criminalise a legitimate indigenous liberation movement.”
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) tribunal headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia on May 10 upheld the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) extension of the ban on the insurgent group for another five years.
“The continued application of the UAPA on HNLC reflects the Indian State’s deep fear of any challenge to its imposed authority over the Hynñiewtrep nation,” HNLC general secretary Saiñkupar Nongtraw said in an email statement today.
Stating that the UAPA has become a tool of “repression” used not to counter terrorism, but to suppress political dissent, regional aspirations, and indigenous voices, Nongtraw stated that by labelling the HNLC as “unlawful” since 2000, the Indian State avoids addressing the root causes of the Hynñiewtrep struggle, historical betrayal, denial of our right to self-determination, and systemic exploitation of our people and resources.
“The HNLC does not seek to destroy peace or disrupt harmony; we seek to restore the sovereignty of a nation whose rights have been repeatedly denied. We are not terrorists; we are the political voice of the Hynñiewtrep Nation. Our resistance is not rooted in hatred, but in history, justice, and the unyielding desire to be free in our own land,” he claimed.
Nongtraw said that the called 48 criminal cases and 73 arrests between 2019 and 2024 are part of a well-known strategy to inflate figures and generate fear to justify state repression. “Many of those arrested were innocent youth, wrongfully accused for merely expressing solidarity with the HNLC or for rejecting forced collaboration with Indian agencies. These are not criminals, they are victims of a State that views patriotism among indigenous peoples as a threat,” he stated.
He said that the accusation of them using social media platforms to radicalise youth is another “misleading narrative” even as he claimed that the HNLC is “educating and awakening the Hynñiewtrep youth, reconnecting them to their roots, their stolen history, and their inherent rights as a sovereign people.”
The HNLC stated that the extension of the ban is not a legal measure but a desperate attempt to silence a movement. Nongtraw said they had rightfully appointed Advocate Fernando Shangpliang to represent them in the court, but stated that their representation was ignored.
“This is my message to the Indian government: You can ban the HNLC, but no tribunal can ever ban the spirit of a free people. No colonial court can silence the voice of intellectually independent Hynniewtrepians. And no law however “draconian” can extinguish the fire of a rightful and just cause,” Nongtraw stated and claimed that their “struggle is grounded in the principles of justice, dignity, and the inalienable right to self-governance”.
