State Govt anti-tribal : ATSUM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 08 2015 : Instead of admitting its ill designs, the State Government is still trying to sell its anti-tribal policy to the people obstinately which has driven a wedge deep enough to bleed the State beyond any hope of redemption.

It is for the world to see the present scenario where all State machineries are activated to crack down on the tribals with brute force, the Coordinating Committee All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM) alleged in a statement.

"Coordinating Committee, ATSUM is pained to see the State Government deliberately enacting self inflicting laws in the interest of the major community at the expense of indigenous tribals," a statement issued by the publicity wing of Coordinating Committee, ATSUM said.

The Constitution of India bifurcated the administration of the State into two distinct selves ie, the Hill Areas of Manipur and the Valley of Manipur.

It is self explanatory that one of the intrinsic organs of the State called the Hill Areas under Article 371 C of the Constitution of India has long been rendered non-functional by the interest of the major community who are responsible for sending 40 MLAs to the sixty members State Assembly where reserved seats account for only 20 MLAs, it said.

The dynamics of this electoral-political circumstances compel the 20 MLAs to toe the line of the 40 MLAs representing the majority community on party as well as ethnic lines, it said.

Modern political history of the tribals in Manipur is more or less a struggle for survival around this vicious circle where everything the Tribals hold dear have been coerced away some way or the other.

Now even their identity is at stake.

With this responsibility in mind, ATSUM as a vanguard of the Indigenous/Tribal people of Manipur have asked the 20 Tribal MLAs to tender their resignation by owning up the responsibility of having failed to perform their Constitutional duty, ATSUM asserted.

Without malice to anyone, the ATSUM shall fight until justice is seen to be done to the indigenous/Tribal people of Manipur and until such time the Tribals claim a dignified political space they rightfully deserve in the biggest democracy in the world.

To this end ATSUM supports any form of democratic protest in the Hill Areas of Manipur to register their grievances to the State Government as well as Central Government for timely intervention, it added.

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