ILP System needs dedicated staff
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 30, 2021 -

The way the Inner Line Permit System has been reduced to a farce in the State calls for a serious rethinking.

As evidenced by the large number of non-local people pulled up by the JCILPS recently in association with local voluntary organisations, the permit system is as good as dead albeit it is hardly two years old in the State.

The very purpose and spirit of introducing the permit system in the State has been defeated on account of utter laxity on the part of Government agencies.

Notwithstanding the fact that the ILP System was introduced in the State after years of sustained collective struggle which also entailed huge casualties, Government agencies have been dealing with the matter in a very casual manner.

The Government agencies are not serious at all and this is testified by the continuous entry of non-local people into the State without ILP passes and issuance of some sort of a token system, instead of proper permits.

There are many Acts, laws and statutes enacted by the successive elected Governments of Manipur or through the Parliament but one area where these elected Governments invariably fumbled or failed with regard to certain laws and Acts has been the implementation part.

An Act may look quite comprehensive and impressive, and its contents may be very noble, ambitious, visionary and tailored to address many present day problems and imminent as well as remote future problems of the society but the same beautifully crafted Act is nothing more than a white elephant if the executive (sic Government) which is responsible for implementing it is ill-equipped or bereft of the necessary dose of will. Sadly, ILPS seems to be heading in the same direction.

The way the State authorities have been dealing with non-local people vis-a-vis ILP System evokes some serious questions.

What is the use of introducing ILPS in the State if non-local people and non-permanent residents of the State are allowed unrestricted entry and unregulated stay within the State for as long as they like?

How do non-local people come into the State without ILP passes?

Does the Government have any mechanism to pull up non-local people who do not renew their ILP passes and have been outstaying the passes?

The Government and the law enforcing agencies are answerable to these questions. At the same time, non-local people who come to the State for whatever reason must learn to follow the laws of the land.

If they are violating the laws of the land, they must be taught to strictly follow the laws using whatever means deemed fit by the authorities.

It is not the ILP System which has failed. It is the Government and its law enforcing agencies which has let down the very spirit of ILPS and betrayed the people's collective struggle.

If the indigenous people's collective wish to check and regulate entry and stay of non-local people in the State must be realised objectively, the State Government may set up a dedicated police force to deal with illegal immigrants, and designate dedicated staff to deal with the works of issuing and renewing ILP passes.

Threats posed by large scale influx of immigrants vary reciprocally to geographical size and population of the host State, and correspondingly to the degree of divergence of culture and customs between the immigrants and the indigenous people.

It is an undeniable fact that Manipur is a very tiny State with a very small population but they have unique identity, culture and traditions which differ sharply from the predominant Indian culture and tradition.

If the indigenous peoples and their identities must be protected, the ILP System must be made an effective mechanism before it is too late.