Sit-in-protest demands ST status

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Apr 10: The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur (STDCM) continued its series of sit-in protests at Hao Keithel, Nambol Bazar today.
The sit-in was organised by the Naharup Pana STDCM, Bishnupur district. The protesters demanded the Government to include Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
It may be noted that the STDCM launched fresh stir from March 20 demanding the State Government to send a recommendation to the Government of India to include the Meeteis/Meiteis in the ST list.
At today’s sit-in protest at Nambol Bazar, STDCM members including secretary (organisation) Salam Subhanker; convenor of CBSTDCM L Romesh Meitei and STDCM secretary general K Bhogendrajit spoke to the protesters and urged the Government to protect Meetei/Meitei community by granting them constitutional safeguards.
The STDCM members stated that Meetei/Meitei community are indigenous people of Manipur and like others, the community should be given the ST status under Article 342 (1) of the Constitution.
When the Meeteis/Meiteis are in fact indigenous people, the community is not recognised as such by the Constitution as it is not included in the ST list. As such, the community has no Constitutional safeguards to protect themselves like other indigenous ST communities in Manipur.
Giving the ST status would provide Meetei/Meitei community with the Constitutional safeguard needed to protect its people, land, religion and their interests, they said.
Denouncing the Government for not recognising the legitimate demand of the community, they asserted that the State has not yet taken up any concrete step to include the Meeteis/Meiteis in the ST list.
Even though the Centre had asked the State to send a recommendation required for granting the ST status to the community, the BJP-led Government is yet to send the same.
The Government should hear and act on the demand of the people. It should have the political will to give the people their Constitutional rights, they said.
The STDCM members maintained that Meetei/Meitei community has all the traits of a Scheduled Tribe.
Explaining, they said that after the State’s recommendation is received, the Centre would then study five criteria to consider giving ST status to the Meetei/Meitei community. These criteria or parameters include “indication of primitive traits, distinctive culture, shyness of contact with community at large, geographical isolation and backwardness.” The Meetei/Meitei community meets all these criteria, they said.
The protesters at the sit-in also raised slogans to include the Meeteis/Meiteis in the ST list by sending the recommendation sought by the Central Government.