NRC demand rings louder with save indigenes call
Womenfolk, students take out rally
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 28 2023:
Giving a big boost to the people's movement for updation and implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC), a large number of womenfolk and volunteers of six student organizations took out a mass rally at Imphal today.
The rally began from the premises of Khwairamband Ima Market around noon after the womenfolk of the market and volunteers of six student organizations including DESAM, MSF, KSA, SUK and AIMS held a meeting at the same place.
The protesters then marched towards the CM Bungalow through BT Road and later took a U-turn from the front of the Traffic Island near Kangla Western Gate as police intercepted them there.
However, they returned to the Ima Keithel Complex and continued to hold protests there for some time.
During the protest, the protesters shouted various slogans and used placards which read as "Save indigenous population", "Establish Population Commission" and "Detect illegal immigrants", among others.
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Speaking on the sideline of the protest, DESAM president Leishangthem Lamyanba Meetei decried that no NRC process has been initiated in the State till date although the State Cabinet took a decision last year to update NRC.
He further informed that the six student organizations had met Central Government leaders and submitted a memorandum which urged implementation of NRC in Manipur last year besides staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi recently in collaboration with the Manipur Students Association, Delhi (MSAD) .
The Chief Minister of Manipur had also assured to update NRC in the State and take up due process to establish a State Population Commission.
However the assurances are yet to be translated into action despite witnessing rapid influx of illegal immigrants in the State, the DESAM president added.
Questioning why and how India cannot identify its own citizens till today although it has completed 75 years of Independence, Lamyanba claimed that this laxity has seriously affected Manipur and other North East States and as a consequence, illegal immigrants have almost outnumbered the indigenous population.
He went on to say that the ancestral land of the indigenous population in Manipur and many parts of the North East region have been occupied by illegal immigrants who came from neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Asserting that the Central Government and the State Government should protect and save the indigenous population of Manipur from becoming minorities in their own land, the DESAM president demanded that the NRC be implemented right away in the State.
He also asked the State Government to expedite the process of establishment of State Population Commission and take up appropriate measures to protect the indigenous people and their ancestral lands.
On the other hand, some women leaders who participated in the protest claimed that the absence of NRC and other appropriate mechanisms to thwart illegal entry of foreigners and non-locals into the State have caused many serious problems, including land ownership and economic challenges in several parts of the hills and the valley.
They said that the illegal immigrants and non-locals have already occupied many pockets of Imphal and valley portions besides setting up numerous new villages in the hills and cultivating poppy extensively by destroying forests.
The women protesters also declared that the womenfolk of Ima Market will provide full support to the NRC movement in the State.
Mention may be made that a large number of Thang-ta, Cheibi and martial arts players took out a peace rally at Imphal area very recently on the demand for implementation of NRC and in support to the "War on Drugs" campaign being carried out by the State Government.