Tribal chiefs rally; urge President to reject Bills
Source: The Sangai Express

CCpur, September 28 2015: Hundreds of tribal chiefs draped in their red blankets today held a rally braving the scorching sun to underscore their objection to the three Bills passed by the State Assembly on August 31.They also handed over an extensive memorandum to argue their case before the President of India, the Prime Minister, the Union Panchayati Raj Minister, the Union Tribal Affairs Minister and the Governor of Manipur.

The tribal chiefs under the banner United Chief Committee (UCC) asserted before the President that land ownership and property holding system as practised by the tribal people of the hill areas of Manipur since time immemorial is unique and different from the valley people.

The tribals are governed under the age-old traditional institution of Chieftainship which is hereditary.

Their land documents were issued by competent authority and the village boundaries were well demarcated by the British administration.

Besides, the tribal chiefs and their land remain outside the purview and were never a part of the Merger Agreement between the Maharaja and the Government of India in 1949, further stated the memo.

Tribal chiefs staging a rally at Churachandpur town

That, in spite of these facts a constant attempt has been made by the Government of Manipur to plunder the tribal land; the culmination if which lies, at present, the passing of the three infamous, unconstitutional anti-tribal Bills, claimed the chiefs while detailing their arguments and pleaded with him to peruse all documents and be pleased to take necessary steps to prevent the three Bills which they identified as 'unconstitutional and anti-tribal' from becoming an Act of the State.

On the Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, 2015 the memo said this Bill particularly infringes on the fundamental rights and other provisions of the Indian Constitution, as despite the Manipur Government's clarification, the Bill aims to harass a huge section of the tribal population of the hill areas by inserting 1951 as the base year to be included in the fold of 'Manipur People' .

The Bill has in its statement of Objects and Reasons, described the State of Manipur as 'small hill State' which is a ploy to bring the entire State of Manipur under one region ignoring the Constitutional provision of Article 371-C of the Indian Constitution which specifically lays down special provisions for the hill areas of the State of Manipur.

The omission and commission of the drafting Committee of the Bill by ignoring to define 'Native People of the State of Manipur' is also seen as a ploy to turn the tide in their favour at any later stage according to their whims as they command a huge majority in the entire State, population wise, and also memberwise in the State Legislative Assembly, it added.

'As village chiefs of the hill villages of the State of Manipur, we also see this Bill as a ploy to divest us of our Chiefship rights and privileges which we have been enjoying since the days of our forefathers,' claimed the chiefs.

As for the MLR & LR (seventh amendment) Bill, 2015 the memo said, this very Bill and its Principal Act, the MLR &LR Act 1960 is a direct threat to the institution of Chieftainship for village administration in the hill areas of Manipur and also greatly affect their land holding system.

The principal Act of 1960 has categorically exempted the Hill Areas from its operation/application but in 1976 a proviso was inserted through an amendment which empower the State Government to extend the application of any section of the Act to any part of the Hill Areas, and the Government of Manipur using that proviso had extended the said Act to a vast tract of hill areas which is home to a large section of the tribals thus affecting their traditional village administration and land holding system under their Chief.

The recent amendment (2015) seeks to insert another new provision in the form of regulating transfer of land where the Acts extends.

The land belonging to the tribal has been protected under special provision, in congruence with Article 371-C of the Indian Constitution, of section 158 of the MLR&LR Act.

However, the new insertion is taken as a ploy to defeat the provision for the protection of tribal lands as the new intended insertion, under Section 14A, begins with a non-obstante clause i.e.it begins with 'Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act�', argued the memorandum.

It added that the use of Manipur People, Non-Manipuri People and Valley Areas in the proposed new insertion under this Bill and co-relating with the proposed � The Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, 2015 � directly reveals some evil design propagated by the majority Meiteis and the State Legislature which they command.

"We have no comments with regard to the proposed insertion of new provisions to the Act," said the Chiefs in reference to the Manipur Shops and Establishment (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015.However, it maintained that their main issue is with the procedural lapses committed by the State Legislature in by passing the Hill Area Committee, as the Bill affects the entire State of Manipur, including the tribal areas.

They also made mention of the whole tribal areas up in agitation against the three Bills since the last one month, and that in the process nine youths have met their end mostly by the barrel of the gun of the men in uniform/State forces, and conveyed their apprehension that in the event of the Bills not stopped at this juncture more agitation in a more serious manner is to come.