MMTU takes ST campaign to RSS Hqs
28-Sep-2024
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IMPHAL, Sep 28
The Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU) took its Nationwide campaign on enlisting Meitei/Meetei com-munity in the ST category to the RSS headquarters, Nagpur, Maharashtra and presented a detailed account of the highly insecure status of Meiteis in Manipur.
A delegation of MMTU led by its secretary administration M Churamani Meetei and the union’s youth wing convenor H Surjit called on RSS headquarters chief secretary Samir Kshirsagar and other leaders of the organisation today.
Giving a detailed account of the grim situation of Meitei/Meetei community, the MMTU delegation sought support of the RSS headquarters in enlisting the community in the ST category under Article 342(1) of the Indian Constitution.
The MMTU made a strong point that the Meitei/Meetei community deserves to be included in the ST list.
They also presented a detailed account on how the current violent crisis erupted.
After the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union in 1949, the Government of India came out with a list of Scheduled Tribes on September 20, 1950 but the Meitei/Meetei community was surreptitiously left out, the MMTU delegation told the RSS leaders.
They also expressed strong suspicion that the Meitei/Meetei community was left out of the ST list at the behest of certain communities.
Meiteis are now becoming a minority in their own State. Meiteis can no longer protect their political and cultural identity and their socio-economic condition is debilitating day by day, the delegation said.
They also pointed out that the entire Meitei population is now confined to just 700 square miles.
After Manipur merged into the Indian Union and the Government of India took the responsibility of guarding its borders, lakhs of Kuki-Zo people were allowed to immigrate conti- nuously and settle in Manipur.
Apart from settling the Kuki-Zo militants, they were given Indian citizenship as well as ST status.
Capitalising on the reservations given to Scheduled Tribes, many of the immigrant Kuki-Zo people became IAS, IPS and other bureaucrat officers and they eventually took complete control of the State administration, the MMTU delegation told the RSS leaders.
The number of Kuki-Zo villages rose by more than 2000 within a short time. They have already outnumbered several indigenous communities, they said.
All the indigenous communities who settled in Moreh, Kangpokpi and Churachandpur etc have been driven out from these places by the immigrant Kuki-Zo people, they continued.
Moreover, the immigrant Kuki-Zo people took up extensive poppy plantation after clearing vast forest areas in the hills which ultimately led to narco-terrorism as witnessed in Manipur today, the MMTU delegation asserted.
Even as they sought a meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, they were told that he was on a tour to some States.
Nonetheless, the delegation submitted a memorandum written in Hindu to the RSS headquarters chief secretary and invited the RSS leaders to visit Manipur for a direct assessment of the current situation.