Consultative meet bats for updating NRC
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, April 12 2023:
A public consultative meeting organised by six student bodies - AIMS, DESAM, KSA, MSF, SUK and another students' organisation, has resolved to mount pressure on the state government for taking up necessary steps for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of the state.
The consultative meeting held at City Convention Centre, Palace Compound, here, on Wednesday was attended by experts, intellectuals, CSO leaders, stakeholders and community leaders.
Six resolutions were adopted at the end of the meeting.
Former chairperson of Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) Khaidem Mani moderated the session during which RIMS Department of Biostatistics professor Dr RK Narendra and Manipur University, Department of Law head professor Dr Yumnam Premananda spoke on ways to implement NRC and its importance as resource persons.
Interacting with the media after the meet, MSF president Maibam Julesh said that the six student bodies have been raising the demand for updating the NRC of the state.
They along with ANSAM leaders had also organised a demonstration at Jantar Mantar, Delhi recently and submitted memorandum on the NRC demand to union home minister Amit Shah.
In continuation of the movement, the consultative meet was organised to seek opinions and suggestions of community leaders and stakeholders concerned, he informed.
While pointing out the northeast region shares common international border with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal and influx of immigrants from these countries is posing serious threat to survival of the minor indigenous communities, Manipur is flooded with illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, which resulted in assimilation of the indigenous culture, language, religion and tradition.
Keeping in view of the gravity of the situation, updating the NRC to identify the illegal immigrants has become a necessity, president Julesh also cautioned all concerned that many of the illegal immigrants have settled in the state by setting up new villages and practicing illegal poppy plantation by clearing reserved and protected forest areas, which is also another threat to the natural ecosystem of the state resulting in drastic change in the climatic condition.
Recalling that the state assembly had also adopted a resolution to implement NRC in the state, he denounced the delay in taking up necessary steps in this regard.
Julesh also highlighted the demographic changes being experienced in the state as reflected in the census reports of 1951 to 2011 .
This demographic change is a tell-tale sign of the assimilation of outsiders in the social fabric of the state, he said.
Expressing that further delay in implementing NRC would only aggravate the situation and consequently threaten the indigenous community, he stressed the need for immediate steps for early NRC exercise.
The resolutions adopted during Wednesday's consultative meeting include support to the movement for NRC exercise in the state by all indigenous communities and their organisations; taking proactive measures to create awareness among the public to raise their consciousness level on the demographic changes in the state; mounting pressure on the state government to constitute a full-fledged State Population Commission; holding further public conventions as part of the NRC movement; and agreement on the need for forming a joint committee of all indigenous communities for pursuing the demand.