Only ST tag can save Meiteis : STDCM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 16 2024: The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee Manipur (STDCM) has categorically asserted that Inner Line Permit (ILP) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) are not enough but only the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status can save the Meiteis.

Speaking to media persons at their office at Ima Khunthokhanbi premises, Thangmeiband today, STDCM general secretary K Bhogendrajit said that the campaign to enlist Meitei/Meetei in the ST category slowed down on account of the violent conflict which erupted on May 3, 2023 .

From October 18, 2022 to January 21, 2023, the STDCM met 33 Meitei Ministers/MLAs one after another, sought their support to the popular movement for enlistment of Meitei/Meetei in the ST category and also urged them to persuade the Chief Minister to send necessary recommendations to the Centre, Bhogendrajit said.

Only ST tag can save Meiteis : STDCM

Apart from pledging support to the popular movement, the 33 Meitei MLAs/Ministers assured that they would raise the issue with the Chief Minister, he said.

The necessity for Meiteis/Meeteis to get ST status in order to protect themselves has been further accentuated by the events that erupted in the State since May 3 last year, the STDCM general secretary asserted.

Although the popular movement was abated for sometime on account of the widespread violence, the STDCM has once again submitted a representation to the Meitei MLAs/Ministers urging them to take up the issue with the Chief Minister and translate their verbal assurances of support to the popular movement for ST status into action, he said.

The Meitei MLAs/Ministers have been appealed to submit a letter each to the Chief Minister on the issue of enlisting Meitei/Meetei in the ST category, he continued.

The Meitei/Meetei Tribe Union (MTU) recently carried out a mass missed call campaign and around nine lakh Meitei people showed their support to the demand for ST status by responding positively to the campaign.

The mass missed call campaign testified that the vast majority of the Meitei/Meetei community are in favour of ST status, he asserted.

He urged Chief Minister N Biren to understand the pulse of the indigenous Meitei community and take up necessary steps so as to enlist Meitei/Meetei in the ST category.

The STDCM general secretary appealed to the Chief Minister to send necessary recommendations to the Government of India instead of waiting for people's strong movements.

World Meitei Council Heigrujam Nabashyam urged all Meitei MLAs, Ministers and MPs to consult the Chief Minister before January 31 and ensure that the latest socio- economic and ethnographic reports of the Meitei community are sent to the Government of India before the Parliamentary elections.

There shall be a major delimitation exercise across the country in 2026 and this may change the total number of MPs.

The existing 60 Assembly seats of Manipur were determined based on the population figures of 1971 .

At that time, Meiteis constituted around 60 per cent of the total population of Manipur.

However, in 2011, the population percentage of Meiteis declined to around 44 .

Coupled with the incessant influx from Myanmar, Chin-Kuki people now constitute the biggest community in Manipur after Meiteis.

Chin-Kuki people have exceeded the Nagas, Nabashyam said.

In the 2027 State Assembly elections which would be held after a major delimitation exercise in 2026, Meiteis would have fewer MLAs as their population percentage has been declining steadily, he said.

In view of the ever declining percentage of Meitei population, it is crucial to enlist the community in ST category, he averred.

He asserted that Meiteis can protect their identity only if they are granted ST status.

Chief Minister N Biren should think for all the indigenous communities of Manipur including Meiteis.

If the Meiteis are not given Constitutional protection, the Meitei identity will vanish after some years, he warned.

The hill people's assertion that Meiteis are an advanced community and they control Imphal, the commercial hub of Manipur is wrong.

Imphal Bazar is controlled by the non-local business community, he pointed out.

Meiteis are living hand to mouth.

Groups of women standing in front of the gates of MLAs and Ministers at the time of Yaoshang is an undeniable testimony to this fact.

These groups of women were seeking monetary assistance from the MLAs and Ministers as they do not have money to celebrate festivals, he continued.

Nabashyam asserted that Meitei fulfils all the five criteria laid down for enlistment in the ST category.

Saying that NRC, ILP, land law and border fencing would not be able to protect Meiteis, he maintained that Meiteis can be saved only when they are granted ST status.