IPAK states stand on four-child policy
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 16 2022: Strongly disapproving the state cabinet's decision of adopting four-child norm as eligibility criteria for families to avail government schemes including jobs, Indigenous People's Association of Kangleipak (IPAK) has categori cally stated the government decision was not only hasty but also erroneous from logical point of view.

According to an IPAK statement, India is the second most populous country at present and it is projected it will become the most populous in the world in the next census.

The Meetei constitute 0.09 percent of India's population and the community is still micro minority community of the country.

UP, Bihar, Delhi and some other big states have huge population and it is right for these states to have effective family planning.

Apart from being less populated and having minimal growth rate, outsiders have become one-third of the total population in Manipur and hence implementation of family planning in the state would be the main cause for extinction of indigenous people of the land, IPAK said.

From the year 2005, Federation of Regional Indig enous Societies (FREINDS) has been taking up different campaigns to save indigenous people of Manipur and the organisation was renamed Indigenous People s Association of Kangleipak (IPAK) on September 7, 2014 and continued programmes initiated by FRIENDS to increase population of indigenous people.

As part of the population growth programme, IPAK honours and confers special award every year to woman delivering maximum children, IPAK said and urged the government to review the cabinet decision.

The cabinet decision might have been taken to control population in view of increasing population in the state.

Since the past many years, the Meetei community has been adopting family planning and couples are having one or two children only.

However, people are well aware that some indigenous communities of Manipur do not adopt family planning and families of such communities are having children as many as they like, IPAK said and appealed to government to look into the matter seriously if it is sincere enough to control population.

Outsiders who came to the state as labourers for big projects like the flyover, capitol project, electricity line laying in hills and national highway constructions did not leave Manipur even after completion of the projects, IPAK pointed out, while adding that this could be another big reason for sudden spike in state's population and the government needs to look into the matter seriously.

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