Kakching Khunou responds well to ST demand
|
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 2 : Asking the State Government to take concrete steps to send the needed recommendations to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution, people at Kakching Khunou Keithel formed a human chain to extend support to the STDCM today.
Locals including womenfolk, members of civil bodies and clubs took part in the demonstration staged under the aegis of the STDCM Kakching District Committee.
Raising slogans demanding ST categorisation for Meitei/Meetei, the protestors said, almost all the Ministers and MLAs have openly lent their support to the STDCM’s demand and as such, the Government should do the needful and send the recommendations and records required for inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei in the ST list.
Scheduled Tribe status for Meitei/Meetei is the only solution that would provide the community the protection it needs. The community needs Constitutional protection it is seeking at the earliest. Delaying this would jeopardize the future of the community, they said.
They asserted that the Meitei/Meetei community is facing threats on multiple fronts and there is the danger that it may become a minority group in their own State in the near future.
They said the community needs Constitutional protection to safeguard their identity, culture and land.
Elaborating they said, while illegal influx of immigrants is a well known threat the community is facing at present, the land/settlement issue is also a major problem.
The Meitei/Meetei people can only settle in the valley area which is 1/10 of the total area of Manipur. They are not allowed to buy land and settle in other areas whereas all the other communities are allowed to settle in the valley, they added.
They continued that the Ministers and the MLAs openly supporting the ST demand is a clear signal to Chief Minister N Biren Singh that he should consider and act on the issue.
The State Government should take a decision on the issue at the earliest and send the required recommendations and records to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for its consideration of the ST demand, they said.
It may be noted that in 2013, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs had written to the Government seeking specific recommendations and latest socio-economic survey and ethnographic report to consider granting ST status to the Meitei/Meetei community.
Meanwhile, the locals during the demonstration also pledged support to the STDCM in its future course of action.
Several executive members of the STDCM took part in the demonstration.
IMPHAL, Feb 2 : Asking the State Government to take concrete steps to send the needed recommendations to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution, people at Kakching Khunou Keithel formed a human chain to extend support to the STDCM today.
Locals including womenfolk, members of civil bodies and clubs took part in the demonstration staged under the aegis of the STDCM Kakching District Committee.
Raising slogans demanding ST categorisation for Meitei/Meetei, the protestors said, almost all the Ministers and MLAs have openly lent their support to the STDCM’s demand and as such, the Government should do the needful and send the recommendations and records required for inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei in the ST list.
Scheduled Tribe status for Meitei/Meetei is the only solution that would provide the community the protection it needs. The community needs Constitutional protection it is seeking at the earliest. Delaying this would jeopardize the future of the community, they said.
They asserted that the Meitei/Meetei community is facing threats on multiple fronts and there is the danger that it may become a minority group in their own State in the near future.
They said the community needs Constitutional protection to safeguard their identity, culture and land.
Elaborating they said, while illegal influx of immigrants is a well known threat the community is facing at present, the land/settlement issue is also a major problem.
The Meitei/Meetei people can only settle in the valley area which is 1/10 of the total area of Manipur. They are not allowed to buy land and settle in other areas whereas all the other communities are allowed to settle in the valley, they added.
They continued that the Ministers and the MLAs openly supporting the ST demand is a clear signal to Chief Minister N Biren Singh that he should consider and act on the issue.
The State Government should take a decision on the issue at the earliest and send the required recommendations and records to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for its consideration of the ST demand, they said.
It may be noted that in 2013, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs had written to the Government seeking specific recommendations and latest socio-economic survey and ethnographic report to consider granting ST status to the Meitei/Meetei community.
Meanwhile, the locals during the demonstration also pledged support to the STDCM in its future course of action.
Several executive members of the STDCM took part in the demonstration.