Attracting the non-locals ; The threat is real !
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 29 2017 -

Do not allow non-locals to contest in elections in the State.

Reserve eight Assembly Constituencies for indigenous people.

It is under this banner that student body Kangleipak Students’ Association has been spearheading a movement of late, mobilising students from different schools to take to the streets.

Regulate the inflow of non-local people into the State of Manipur.

This is the line of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System.

Include the Meiteis/Meeteis in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India.

This is the demand raised by the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur. Central to all the demands raised is the protection of the indigenous people of the land, particularly from the huge onslaught of non-local people, so much so that the KSA has deemed it proper to call for a mechanism to stop non-locals from contesting in elections.

The demand to reserve eight Assembly Constituencies may also be seen in the light of the fact that the population of non-local people in these Assembly segments is huge and if the non-locals gang up or join hands, they may be able to send someone to the State Assembly or other institutions such as the Imphal Municipal Corporation at the cost of the local people.

The apprehension is real, very real and this is a point which the State Government cannot afford to sleep over. Just take a look at the eight Assembly Constituencies which have been named by the KSA and one will get a fair idea.

Wangkhei, Kangpokpi, Jiribam, Thangmeiband, Sagolband, Sugnu, Bishnupur and Uripok are all Assembly Constituencies where the number of non- local people is huge, very huge.

The question is why have so many non-local people come to these places ?

This question is important, for in all the din kicked up to check the influx of non-local people into the State, no one seems to have given any thought on why so many non-local people come here.

Why ? The Sangai Express has written enough on this and unfortunately no organisation has deemed it proper to raise this question sincerely.

On the other hand, the demand to include the Meiteis/Meeteis in the ST list of the Constitution will automatically mean a Constitutional protection wherein no non-local people can buy landed properties or contest in election.

Which ever route one takes, the underlying message is the same.

Today the people of Manipur, particularly the Meiteis/Meeteis, feel threatened by the non-local people who are numerically much stronger.

Apart from raising the need to have a legislation to stop the non-local people from hijacking the political rights of the people, what is needed is for the public to seriously study in what way they have also contributed in leaving the doors wide open for the non-locals to come to the State.

Yes the Government need to seriously study the issue which is in the limelight and at the same time the people too need to study what they can do to check the large scale influx into the State.

And herein lies the importance of not creating any vacuum for anyone to come rushing in to fill the vacuum. This is what has been happening in Manipur.

It is also right not to involve the school going children in taking to the streets. Let the adults do it.