Thousands march through Delhi against 3 Bills
Source: The Sangai Express / Ninglun Hanghal
New Delhi, December 09 2015:
Over a thousand tribals from Manipur , representing various tribe based student bodies, philanthropic organizations took out a symbolic coffin rally from Jantar Mantar to Parliament today.
Chanting slogans and calling for justice to the '9 martyrs' who are lying unburied at Churachandpur hospital morgue, the protesters called for withdrawal of the three Bills passed on August 31 by the State Assembly and demand for a separate administration for tribal areas in Manipur.
A memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister and President.
The protesters were blocked with barricades and lathi charged by the police at Parliament street as they marched towards the Parliament from Jantar Mantar.
Protesters courted arrest and were detained at the Parliament street police station at the time this report is being filed.
About more than five hundred of them were detained.
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The huge rally was carried out after thirty four days of indefinite sit in demonstration at New Delhi under the umbrella of the Manipur Tribals Forum, Delhi.
Significantly , December 9 marks the 100th day since the uprising against the three Bills, where nine tribal protesters were killed (six of them by firing by the State security forces) in Churachandpur on August 31 and September 1, 2015 and subsequent consistent protest for its withdrawal.
The march to Parliament with the 9 coffins was held under the umbrella of Manipur Tribals Forum, Delhi.
All tribe based student bodies, tribe based philanthropic organisations and welfare bodies, traditional bodies based in Delhi took part in the rally.
A release issued by the Tribal Forum stated that in the aftermath of the passage of the Bills which saw unprecedented wave of protests by all tribals of Manipur who came together in unity, demands were put forward to withdraw the three 'anti-tribal' Bills, to deliver justice for the 'martyrs' in terms of meting out punishment to those responsible for their death as per law and for securing the rights and Constitutional protections that justly belong to the tribals, and for the preservation of Constitutional and legal rights of the tribals of Manipur.
However, these just and legitimate demands were not addressed, the release said, hence, the nine 'martyrs' continue to lie unburied even after 100 days in a makeshift mortuary in Churachandpur.
As a show of sympathy and solidarity, to mourn the nine 'martyrs' and to support the just demands, the Manipur Tribals' Forum Delhi (MTFD) has been organizing an indefinite sit in demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi since November 4, 2015.The Forum re-iterated that the tribals of Manipur had suffered enough and had been discriminated against.
The march to Parliament carrying the 9 coffins is to protest the abject apathy and indifference of the Government towards the just demands.
"But we ( tribals) will no longer be silent," the release said.
With a pledge to defend their rights, the Manipur Tribals Forum demanded that the Government of India should take concrete steps to ensure that the three 'anti-tribal' Bills are withdrawn in their entirety.