ST status won’t infringe upon others’ rights : STDCM Governor yet to grant appointment
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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 28: The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) has reiterated that the Meitei/Meetei’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status is not about infringing upon the rights and interests of other fraternal tribes.
STDCM has been planning to meet the Governor and submit a memorandum to highlight what it perceives as the possible root cause of the current crisis and also the reasons why the indigenous Meitei/Meetei community of Manipur has been demanding ST status.
Accordingly, the committee sought an appointment with the Governor.
As there has been no response from the Governor’s office till date, STDCM submitted a memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla today.
The High Court of Manipur issued an order on April 19, 2023 regarding the Meitei/Meetei’s long standing demand for ST status and some people including those from highly responsible Government authorities remarked that the High Court’s order was the root cause of the present crisis.
The STDCM has been refuting this allegation since the beginning of the crisis because the violent incidents broke out on May 3, 2023, the day ATSUM organised a peaceful “Tribal Solidarity March” against the High Court’s order only in the areas predominantly inhabited by Kukis and their allied groups.
The rally concluded peacefully in the areas inhabited by other non-Kuki tribes.
Had the High Court’s order been the root cause of the crisis, definitely violent incidents would have occurred in all areas inhabited by all Scheduled Tribes, the STDCM averred.
The Meitei/Meetei, one of the principal tribes of Manipur, has been left out of the list of the Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution of India since 1951 for reasons best known to the Government, said the memorandum.
As a consequence, Meiteis have been deprived of any Constitutional protection during the last 70 plus years as provided to other similar fraternal tribes and now the community (Meitei/Meetei) is facing imminent threat of marginalization and ultimately extinction in their own ancestral land (Manipur), it said.
It has been reiterated all along that the Meitei/Meetei’s demand for ST status is not to infringe upon the rights and interests of other fraternal tribes.
It is for the survival of indigenous communities of Manipur including Meitei/Meetei. It would rather naturally create a cohesive and harmonious society of all indigenous people of Mani-pur based on ethno-social equality and equal respect for all communities, specially indigenous commu- nities of Manipur, the STDCM wrote to the Governor.
It also drew the attention of the Governor highlighting the immediate need for both the State and Central Governments to earnestly address the demand for granting ST status to the indigenous Meitei/Meetei tribe of Manipur.
IMPHAL, Jul 28: The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) has reiterated that the Meitei/Meetei’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status is not about infringing upon the rights and interests of other fraternal tribes.
STDCM has been planning to meet the Governor and submit a memorandum to highlight what it perceives as the possible root cause of the current crisis and also the reasons why the indigenous Meitei/Meetei community of Manipur has been demanding ST status.
Accordingly, the committee sought an appointment with the Governor.
As there has been no response from the Governor’s office till date, STDCM submitted a memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla today.
The High Court of Manipur issued an order on April 19, 2023 regarding the Meitei/Meetei’s long standing demand for ST status and some people including those from highly responsible Government authorities remarked that the High Court’s order was the root cause of the present crisis.
The STDCM has been refuting this allegation since the beginning of the crisis because the violent incidents broke out on May 3, 2023, the day ATSUM organised a peaceful “Tribal Solidarity March” against the High Court’s order only in the areas predominantly inhabited by Kukis and their allied groups.
The rally concluded peacefully in the areas inhabited by other non-Kuki tribes.
Had the High Court’s order been the root cause of the crisis, definitely violent incidents would have occurred in all areas inhabited by all Scheduled Tribes, the STDCM averred.
The Meitei/Meetei, one of the principal tribes of Manipur, has been left out of the list of the Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution of India since 1951 for reasons best known to the Government, said the memorandum.
As a consequence, Meiteis have been deprived of any Constitutional protection during the last 70 plus years as provided to other similar fraternal tribes and now the community (Meitei/Meetei) is facing imminent threat of marginalization and ultimately extinction in their own ancestral land (Manipur), it said.
It has been reiterated all along that the Meitei/Meetei’s demand for ST status is not to infringe upon the rights and interests of other fraternal tribes.
It is for the survival of indigenous communities of Manipur including Meitei/Meetei. It would rather naturally create a cohesive and harmonious society of all indigenous people of Mani-pur based on ethno-social equality and equal respect for all communities, specially indigenous commu- nities of Manipur, the STDCM wrote to the Governor.
It also drew the attention of the Governor highlighting the immediate need for both the State and Central Governments to earnestly address the demand for granting ST status to the indigenous Meitei/Meetei tribe of Manipur.