Agenda before the All Political Parties Committee on ILP
- Part 1 -

Dr. Khomdon Lisam *

ILP Protest : Khwairamband Keithel Phambee Ima at Raj Bhavan and BJP Party Office on August 21 2014 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Now the All Political Parties Committee on ILP under the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister Shri Gaikhangam, comprising of other eminent political leaders is in a tight spot. Anybody who will be in this position will be in a tight spot because of the nature of the problem. I remember a medical jargon , the meaning of a "Consultant". In the medical fraternity, it is often said : "A Consultant is one who is called at the last minute to share the blame". Thanks to the wisdom of our Hon'ble Chief Minister, Shri O. Ibobi Sngh . Now nobody can directly blame the Hon'ble CM for not doing enough . He had to share the blame with all political parties and all the past Chief Ministers whose comments and views have been taken in the process,

It is clear that the Government of India is not willing to adopt the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation , 1873 (ILP) for Manipur. According to latest reports, they are even planning to remove the ILP from all the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram . They are also not interested to enact any other law in the parliament to protect the rights, language, land, culture, custom , mineral resources of indigenous people. We do not want to offend the Hon'ble Prime Minister. We do not want to enact a law which will be ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court.

Ultimately , the question of ILP is a legal matter in which a person like me has no locus standi. But we are the victims, We are the sufferers. Our future generations may be wiped out unless timely action is taken. We have to study the relevant laws , learnt from experiences of other states and assert our rights to the authority. . For us , our own survival is more important than the Indian Constitution . During the last 65 years,, Manipuris had never asserted to amend the Indian Constitution. There are many people who think the Indian Constitution is sacrosanct . They never think that it can be amended.

The Government o India Is wooing Muivah by offering to amend the Indian Constitution to satisfy his demands whereas we , Manipuris never consider to demand for amendment of Indian Constitution. We never think that the Indian Constitution is responsible for communal disharmony , communal conflicts and tensions in Manipur, which is the no.-1 problem in Manipur. This was deliberately done to divide us in the name of political parties, ethnicity, religions etc.

Once Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said on 2nd September , 1953 in the Rajya Sabha :- "my friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody...." The Government of India will definitely woke up if we implement what Dr. Ambedkar has said.

Let us see the experiences of other states

Lessons from Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is enjoying a special status under Article 370 of Indian Constitution, having a separate Constitution, a separate Emblem, a separate Flag. Earlier, Jammu Kashmir had a special law restricting entry of Indian citizens into the state. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah enforced the law requiring Indian citizens to obtain permit for visiting the state very strictly. This created a stir in the whole of India.

Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was arrested and imprisoned on May 11, 1953 while crossing the border without Entry permit. He was found dead in the custody on May 23, 1953 under mysterious circumstances. He was opposing to the Article 370, separate constitution, separate flag for Kashmir and Entry Permit system. This law of Entry Permit system. was abolished on April 1, 1959 by Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad.

Earlier, Kashmiri girls married to a non-permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to be a subject of the state. She would then lose her right to get or continue in a government job, own land and property, pursue higher education, contest or vote in municipal and state elections. However, wives of J&K men automatically became state subjects.

In 2002, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has pronounced a historic verdict in favour of the women of the state. The court ruled after 25 years of fighting that Kashmiri women marrying outsiders did not stand to lose her right to work, education, inheritance of land properties and even adoption. A full bench of the court, hearing a bunch of petitions filed over the years, held by a majority decision that a woman by marriage to an outsider 'will not lose her state subject rights'.

But the law which prohibits outsiders to buy land still exists. Here One question we may ask to our Prime Minister " If Kashmir, a Muslim Princely state can be given a special status, a separate constitution , a separate flag, why not Manipuris be allowed to protect themselves from illegal migrants to prevent us from becoming a minority in our own state like Tripura." This maybe the opening remark in the discussion with the Prime Minister. What is the logic? What is the justification ? What is the secret ? We want to know .

Lessons of Arunachal Pradesh:

The entry of outsiders to Arunachal Pradesh is controlled under four enactments –
(1) ) Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873
(2) Eastern Railroad Regulation, 1953
(3) Indian Rail Frontier Regulation, 1967
(4) Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1990.

Arunachal Pradesh has got its first passenger train and has witnessed the first trial run of a rail engine on 15 January 2014. The first trial run was of 20-km from Harmutty in Lakhimpur district of Assam to the Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar.. The State government of Arunachal Pradesh would like to put a mechanism in place for checking the inner line permit (ILP) (Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1973 ) of the passengers.

The railways have a plan to introduce a Rajdhani Express to Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar As per the Railway Budget announcement, the railways are planning to connect New Delhi with Naharlagun, 15 km away from Itanagar, with a bi-weekly Rajdhani Express within this year after the necessary railway infrastructure is in place. The Railway Ministry spokesman said "We are ready to run the train. The tracks are ready, stations are ready, the whole system is ready. The BJP government has taken the first step towards permanent removal of ILP from Arunachal Pradesh and other states.

The Home Ministry, Government of India has reportedly written a letter to the Government of Arunachal that no passenger of Rajdhani train should be required to produce ILP. At the same time, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) has opposed this policy of the BJP, which is directly threatening survival of the indigenous people of Arunachal. This policy also contradicts the spirit of Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act.

They alleged that the BJP is following hidden agenda to push non- Arunachal people into Arunachal Pradesh and take away the customary rights of indigenous people over its resources, land, etc," The BJP Party maintained that that the BJP government should immediately cancel this ILP system and respect the provisions enshrined by the constitution.

The All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) maintained that no traveller will be allowed to enter the State without the mandatory Inner Line Permit (ILP) which a non-Arunachali has to obtain from the State Government before visiting the State.

Do we want a train service or do we want ILP ? We want to choose both .

To be continued....