Gorkhas appeal for protection of Constitutional rights
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 31 2015: Gorkha community leaders of the State have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister today seeking pro-tection of the Constitutional rights of Gorkha minority community in the event of passing of Bills as per the agreement between the State Govt and JCILPS.

Tracing back the history of first Gorkha settlement to the early 19th century during the reign of Maharaja Gambhir Singh, the Gorkha representation said the present Gor-khas of Manipur numbering about 50,000 - 60,000 are descendants of the earliest Gorkhas settled before 1951.As such, they should be given a status of permanent local Manipuri Gorkhas.

The land possessed and owned by the Gorkhas (both patta land and grazing reserve land) should not be affected by the proposed legislations as the Gorkhas owned the land under various provisions of the existing laws, it said.

The memo also clarified that the allegations labelled by different bodies regarding the exaggeration and projection of extremely high population of Gorkhas and its impacts are baseless and unfounded.

The contributions and sacrifice of the Gorkha commu- nity for the country should be recognised and honoured and no Gorkha should be humiliated, tortured and harassed in any part of the State.

The unique history of Gorkhas of Manipur should be well recognised, the memo urged.

The signatories of the memorandum are Shiva Ku-mar Basnet, Pradhan, Kangla- tongbi GP, Bhumi Prasad Basnet, Member, Sadar Hills ADC, Hari Prasad Nepal, Gaon Bura, Irang Part-I, Ganesh Ghimire, chairman of Leimakhong Area Gorkha Association, Rajen Rai, secretary, Manipureli Kirat San- gha, Mani Kumar Limbu, president, Sanskritik Surak-sha Parishad, Manipur, Subol Singh, chairman, UKADS Laxmi Prasad Khatiwada, social worker, and general secretary of Bhartiya Gorkha Parisangh, NE.

The memo further pledged to always support the genuine demands of the people of Manipur under the provision of various existing laws and the Constitution.

It hoped that the new legislations would not infringe the Constitutional rights and liberties of the Gorkhas of the State.

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