1st NE Indigenous Peoples' Parliament 2015 begins >
Opens New Chapter In Struggle Of Ne Peoples For Rights, Dignity, Identity
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, December 10 2015: The three-day session of the 1st North East Peoples' Parliament (NIPP 2015) organised by Coalition for Indigenes' Rights Campaign, Manipur, Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha and Assam Meitei Apunba Lup began on Thursday at Kangshang, Khumanlampak Sports Complex, Imphal.

The inaugural session was graced by Stephen Angkang, former President of Tangkhul Naga Long and Hidangmayum Dwijasekhar Sharma, former Principal DM College of Science as the Chief Guest and President of the parliament respectively.

The inaugural session was attended by tribe and community delegates representing Bodo, Jayantia, Tripuri, Reang (Bru), Deori, Karbi, Khasi, Moran, Kom, Aimol, Vaipei, Leianmai, Thadou, Kom, Kabui, Chothe, Kharam, Hmar, Zeme, Chiru, Meetei Pangal, Paite, Koireng, Meetei and other indigenous communities from Northeast India.

1st NE Indigenous Peoples' Parliament 2015 begins

The first session was chaired by H Dwijasekhar Sharma as the Speaker.

Jalendra Reang from Bru community; Gandadhar Ramchiary from Bodo; Angam Zatung Chiru from Chiru; Erwin K Syiem Sutuga from Jaintia community; Ratan Moran from Moran community; Ram Singh Kathar from Karbi; Punya Dhar Ariyo Deori from Deori; L Mary Kom from Kom community; Th James and Ab Tangamang from Liangmai community; Abdul Hakim Shah from Meitei-Pangal community and other delegates expressed their views on the agenda "Challenges & Survival of each Tribes" .

The first session adopted recommendations that include the constitution of a working group to look into various issues raised in the first session as well as into other relevant issues for further elaboration and adoption by the first session of the said parliament.

It has also resolved that the head of the delegation from each participating States in the first parliament will be members of the working committee and the working committee will have power to co-opt other members as they deem fit.

The parliament has been organized with an aim to open a new chapter in the struggle of the indigenous peoples of Northeast India for their rights, dignity and identity.

The organizers said a collective movement encompassing all the indigenous peoples at the regional level has long been overdue given the ineffectiveness and failure of isolated movements, which in general, are pre-dominantly ethno-exclusivist in character.

The parliament affirmed that there can never be an exclusive solution to the problems faced by a community as the problems of the region are structurally inter-related.

Calling for a common approach to collectively solve the issue, the parliament organisers stated, "The Northeast India as we understand today is not a mere political construct imposed on us by external hegemony.

It is a civilizational category with concrete historical and cultural foundation.

The future destiny of the peoples of this region is bound together not only by history and geography alone but also by their existential realities." This Parliament seeks to represent an understanding that the future of this region lies in collective struggle of all the indigenous peoples cutting across narrow ideological and political affiliations, said the oragnisers.

The parliament also envisages to serve as a common platform of all the oppressed peoples of the Northeast to air their collective voice against all forms of discrimination, exploitation and suppression.