Invite letter to tribal leaders withdrawn
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 20 2022: After an invitation letter of the Manipur State Commission for the Scheduled Tribes (MSCST) sent to several tribal CSOs courted wrath from many sections, Dr Tara Manchin Hangzo, Member (Admin) of the commission has cancelled and withdrawn the letter and apologized.

Notably, the commission's letter was sent out to several tribal leaders and civil society organisations inviting them to meet and interact with a seven member team of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) who are reportedly visiting the State (from December 20 to 22) .

In a late evening development, the seven member team of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes led by MP Ananta Nayak arrived at Imphal today.

Invite letter to tribal leaders withdrawn

When the team arrived at Classic Grande to meet tribal leaders, members and volunteers of Kangleipak Kanba Lup raised slogans demanding inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST list.

The protesters stated that the inclusion of the community would bring peace and harmony in the State.

They also demanded exclusion of Chin-Kuki from the list of the Scheduled Tribes.

According to the letter, a meeting was scheduled between the visiting NCST team and tribal leaders at Hotel Classic Grande at 5.30 pm, December 20 .

Significantly, one of the main agendas of the scheduled meeting is reportedly to discuss the demand of a "dominant tribe" for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

In addition, the letter of the MSCST had asked all other tribes to fight against the "dominant tribe" .

Responding to reports published by media on the MSCST letter, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM), which has been spearheading the ST status demand for Meitei/Meetei, had sought the commission to let it meet the visiting NCST team.

Asserting that the "dominant tribe" mentioned in the letter was a term used to mean the Meitei/Meetei, the STDCM had accused the MSCST (Manipur State Commission for the Scheduled Tribes) for taking an extremely partisan stand and inciting other tribes to fight against the "dominant tribe" .

Meanwhile, a statement of Dr Tara Manchin Hangzo, Member (Admin), MSCST today clarified that the invitation letter was issued solely by her without the knowledge of the Chairperson of the commission and the visiting NCST team.

In the statement she issued under the MSCST letterhead, she said according to The Manipur State Commission for the Scheduled Tribes Act, 2014, the commission has no jurisdiction on any matter dealt with by the NCST, established under Article 338A of the Constitution of India.

Also, the line in the letter, "in view of the ST demand by the dominant tribe gaining momentum in the State" had hurt the sentiment of other communities, said the statement.

"I tender my sincere apologies as it was not my intention to cause harm.

This letter was issued solely by me without the knowledge of the Chairperson (MSCST) and NCST visiting team," Dr Tara Manchin Hangzo said, stating she is withdrawing her statement.

"I sincerely apologise to the peace loving people of the State and ensure that such irresponsible statements will not be written in the future," she said.

It may be mentioned that the STDCM (Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur) has been demanding ST status for Meitei/Meetei for more than 10 years.

More importantly, the Centre, responding to STDCM's demand, had written to the State Government to send specific recommendations and necessary records to consider the ST status demand for Meitei/Meetei in 2013.However, with the State Government still not sending the recommendations sought, the STDCM has been holding a series of democratic agitations across the State.

In a bid to court the support of elected legislators and give teeth to its movement, the STDCM had recently started visiting MLAs and Ministers at their residences with memoranda on the issue.

Consequently, the STDCM's movement had gained significant momentum in the last few weeks with many MLAs and Ministers beginning to publicly support and endorse the ST status demand.

The STDCM has been reiterating that the inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei in the ST list of the Indian Constitution is the only way to protect and preserve the ethnic community, their integrity, land, culture and identity.