Ineffectiveness of ILP system exposed, yet again
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: October 15, 2022 -

THE arrest of around 50 non-locals within a 48-hour time span and monetary fine slapped on them for non-possession of the mandatory Inner Line Permits (ILPs) validate suspicion among the general population that official negligence and callousness on the part of the law enforcement agencies would render the system ineffective.

In view of such an apparent apathetic attitude by whosoever is entrusted to oversee implementation of the entry/exit regulatory law at the border check gates, the demand by the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur (STDCM) for granting constitutional safeguard to the indigenous Meetei community is justifiable in every aspect, for genesis of the protracted movement is due to apprehension that the government agencies are susceptible to compromise interest of the native people.

Unlike the pro-ST agitations which are being carried out in a democratic manner up to now, the demand for ILP system was marked by violent clashes between the agitators and police and injuries suffered by both sides, not to forget about the death of a student protester some years back.

In acknowledgement of the public sentiment and realisation of the fact that the situation might go out of hand, the Union government finally yielded and announced reintroduction of the ILP system in December 2019.

The government of India legitimised the decades old demand mainly pursued by the valley organisations and people but the decision of the Centre to extend the ILP regime for monitoring entry and exit of non-natives had lukewarm response from the agitation spearheads as well as the masses while government leaders celebrated, showered praises on the central leaders and likened the decision to act of benevolence.

Absence of enthusiasm among civil societies including the Joint Committee on ILP System, which spearheaded the ILP movement was primarily based on the apprehension that mere introduction of the restrictive legislation wouldn't serve the purpose of shielding the indigenous communities without effective follow-up measures such as the base year to define who should be natives of the land and minute examination of those seeking to enter Manipur.

There have been instances of volunteers of the Joint Committee rounding up non-locals from the market places and police detaining foreign nationals from border districts like Tengnoupal, Moreh sub-divisional town to be specific, and Churachandpur for violation of the ILP guidelines, thereby deepening the suspicion that there is either serious flaw in the law or ineptness and negligence of duty by those stationed at the checking points.

Such an apprehension has been validated yet again when police carried out random checking in the capital city as well as outlaying locations of Imphal East and Imphal West districts on Wednesday and Thursday, and pulled up around 50 non-locals without ILP documents.

Regardless of the court of law convicting and slapping monetary penalties on these non-locals, the question is not about the fines collected from violators of law of the land but lack of commitment and sincerity on the part of officials and their support staff to effectively enforce the legislation.

Detection of such significant number of non-natives in different areas makes it crystal clear that infiltration has been rampant even after the ILP system came into force and the government authorities continue to be in self-congratulatory mood.