Kuki Inpi deplores HC ruling on ST issue
Source: Chronicle News Service
Kangpokpi, April 26 2023:
A day after the United Naga Council expressed dissatisfaction over High Court of Manipur's directive to the state government for sending recommendation to the centre for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei community in the Scheduled Tribe list of India, Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) has raised posers on Court's decree.
In a release, KIM information and publicity secretary Janghaolun Haokip stated that the Meetei/Meitei community, besides being the largest group in the state (with about 60 per cent of the total population, having.40 members out of 60 in the Manipur Legislative Assembly), is an advanced community which is well ahead of many other communities in India let alone Manipur and for this reason, they have not been recognised as Scheduled Tribe by successive governments.
He stated that the ST communities of Manipur have consistently opposed the demand for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST list fearing loss of job opportunities and other affirmative actions granted to ST by the Constitution of India to the much-advanced community like Meetei.
He then stated that the directive of the High Court to the Government of Manipur for recommending inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST list of the State/ India is therefore considered by Kuki Inpi Manipur as insensitive to the interests of the backward and marginalised tribal communities of Manipur and India.