Student bodies petition PM for NRC in state
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 09 2022: Seven student bodies, namely All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANSAM), Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Sinpanglup (AIMS), Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA), Manipuri Students' Federation (MSF) and Students' Union of Kangleipak (SUK), jointly submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging for National Register of Citizenship (NRC) exercise by setting up a State Population Commission in order to protect the indigenous people of the state from illegal immigrants.

Copies of the memorandum signed by presidents of the seven student bodies were also submitted to Union minister for home affairs Amit Shah, Union Mos for external affairs Dr RK Ranjan and Lok Sabha MP (Outer) from Manipur Dr Lorho S Pfoze besides calling on Union minister for ayush Sarbananda Sonowal.

While highlighting the need for having a National Register of Citizenship and constitution of Manipur State Population Commission, the student bodies, in the joint memorandum, stated that Manipur, prior to its merger to the Dominion of India in 1949, had strict regulations for outsiders in visiting and settling in Manipur and this regulation was lifted by the then Chief Commissioner Himmat Singh in 1950, thus opening a floodgate for outsiders to come and settle in Manipur, which is a small state of just 22,327 sq km comprising 0.7% of the land surface of India.

They also presented the growth in population after 1950 through a graph and pointed out that the decadal growth rate of population was only 12.08 per cent for the decade 1941 to 1951.The decadal growth rate after the revocation of the regulation in 1950 resulted in a sharp increase.

"This increase can only be explained by migration from neighbouring countries and states and just can't be explained by natural birth.

When one examined the composition of the population based on mother tongue spoken, it comes to the conclusion that the immigrants are mostly from the cognate tribes from neighbouring Myanmar, Nepali from Nepal and Muslims from Bangladesh", the memorandum stated and added that the latter has now become a distinct force in Jiribam district bordering Assam.

In Tripura, Hindus were the main migrants from erstwhile Bangladesh and most Muslim migrants from this country reached Assam and Manipur with some settled in Nagaland, it added.

People of Manipur had been demanding the government to update and implement NRC through the available records as done in Assam, with 1951 as the base year as Manipur joined the Union of India in 1949.The demand is strictly based on the need for small communities in the region and the state to survive.

Manipur comprises almost 90 per cent hills where land cannot be bought by non ST, while in the valley, the population density is 730 per square kilometre as per 2011 census and will not be able to cater to migrants as the growing population of the state needs to be catered first.

This high population impacts the hills as many of the migrants are staying there as share-croppers and it will be difficult to dislodge them later.

This impacts the indigenous hill brethren also and conflict had arisen now and then, including violent reactions, the student bodies asserted.

Even the ILP regime extended in the state has little impact as there is no definition of the term inhabitant.

It was only recently that the state cabinet decided to adopt 1961 as the base year for identifying the inhabitants of Manipur.

However, the most important issue is the regulation of visitors from other countries, who have the habit of settling down in the state through marriages and other means.

People have also been demanding establishment of the State Population Commission like the Central Government felt the need and constituted a National Population Commission in 2020, the memorandum said while urging the Centre to advise the state government to establish a State Population Commission with inclusion of technical experts, so that details can be worked out for the future of the state.

"It is our fervent appeal, that to protect the indigenes of the state, which are being swamped and marginalised in our own home state, the NRC for the state with 1951 as the base year is prepared and the state government is advised to establish a Manipur State Population Commission in line with the National Population Commission at the earliest", the student bodies stated in the joint memorandum.

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