Decks cleared for People Movement for ILP
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, April 15 2012:
Under the banner of People Movement for Inner Line Permit (ILP), Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) and Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) are set to launch a mass campaign in support of the public demand for reintroduction of ILP in Manipur to check influx of outsiders.
Announcing this in a joint statement, Vice President of DESAM M Angamba and President of KSA Yumnam Pradip Kumar said that the proposed People Movement for ILP is to be launched in support of the campaign being spearheaded by FRIENDS for the last many years.
Appealing to all the people for their support and co-operation to the proposed campaign so as to ensure early implementation of Inner Line Permit System in Manipur, the joint statement has also called for increasing the population of indigenous people so as to face the onslaught of outsiders.
Quoting a report (Influx of migrants into Manipur) published by United Committee Manipur (UCM), the joint statement pointed out that as per Census 2001, out of the total population of 22,93,896 people in Manipur, the number of outsiders reached 7,05,588 as against 751422 Meeteis, 670782 tribals and 157204 Meetei Pangals.
This indicated that outsiders constituted 1/3 of the total population of Manipur and their number exceeded Indigenous tribal population by 33707 people.
What is even more worrisome is that the difference between the population of Majority Meeteis and the outsiders is just 47334 .
In such a situation, it is frightening to think over what would be the existing demography in the just concluded census report of 2012, the joint statement expressed concern, while recalling the how indigenous population of Tripura had been gradually dominated over by influx outsiders.
To save Manipur from similar fate, introduction of Inner Line Permit at the earliest possible is required, the joint statement added.