October deadline for ST demand : Between opposing voices
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 28 2016 -

It is a gentle reminder, no doubt. But if the State Government fails to approach the Centre with the proposal that the Meeteis/Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India within October, then the reaction will be far from gentle.

This is a safe prognosis that one may make in the face of the sustained movement organised by the Coordinating Body of Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur (CBSTDCM).

The deadline is October and this was something which was stressed after the public rally held on September 18.

How the Centre will respond to the demand put forth is something which only time can tell, but already the State Government must be feeling the heat.

So far the CBSTDCM has kept away young students from taking part in their campaign and till date no bandh or general strike has been called on the issue but this does not guarantee that the script will continue this way in the coming days.

That there are conflicting stand on the issue is clear with some endorsing the stand that the Meeteis/Meiteis be included in the ST list while some have been staunchly opposing such a stand.

Tough to say whether a meeting point can be worked out between the two opposing sides, but this will not lessen the pressure on the Government.

On the contrary it may just give more headache to all concerned and this is a cause for worry.

On the other hand, there is a group of people who want the State Government to come out with a Bill to regulate the inflow of non-local people into the State while the hill people, especially people from Churachandpur district, have more than made it clear that any Bill thus passed should not infringe on the rights of the tribal people over their land.

So two issues which will continue to hit headlines in the State dailies and which will undoubtedly give a lot of pressure on the Government and things certainly do not look good for the people and the land.

The interesting part is no one knows how the Centre will respond to the move of the State Government.

As things stand today, the State Government has revised/improved the Draft Bill submitted by the JCILPS earlier and uploaded the same on the official website of the Additional Chief Secretary, drawing heavy criticisms from the JCILPS for tweaking the Bill submitted by them.

October 10 is the date the State Government has set for the public to give their opinions and suggestions on the Draft Bill and while this is certainly welcome it is tough to say how the people will respond.

Will the hill people agree to the points laid down in the Draft Bill ? More importantly the JCILPS has already rejected the tweaked Draft Bill.

These are important points to be noted. Top this off with the October deadline given by the CBSTDCM and surely the task ahead of the Government is clear.

The worrying part however is whether the people on either side of the ST demand will be able to see eye to eye and the same thing goes for the Draft Bill too.

Let there be debates and suggestions but do not let these be reduced to a confrontation between anyone.