Demand to include Meitei in ST list Stir to be intensified
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 25 2015 : The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur has vowed to intensify the agitation in pursuit of their demand for inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe list of the country.

The committee staged a sit-in-protest at Keishampat Lairembi community hall in this regard today.

Later a rally was taken out towards the Chief Minister's residence.

However, only a few selected representatives were allowed to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister after police blocked the rallyists near Raj Bhavan.

Committee executive member Ningthoujam Nilachandra said that they are now ready to launch different forms of intense agitation as the State Government has been silent on the legitimate demand of the committee since the past three years.

Rally demanding ST status for Meiteis

The committee began submitting memoranda to the State and Central Governments regarding the matter in 2012, he said and added that subsequent upon these memoranda, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs asked the State Government to submit a Meitei ethnography and detailed socio-economic survey report on May 29, 2013 .

However, the State Government has not responded anything to the Centre till date, he said.

Nilachandra said that there are many Hindu-Arya communities which are recognised as Scheduled Tribe in the country.

Stating that Meiteis can be taken as a major tribe of Manipur, Nilachandra said and added that it would be however wrong to say that Meiteis are ahead of other communities in every field.

Regarding economy, Nilachandra said that majority of the Meiteis reside in rural areas and most of Meitei people are daily wage earners.

Although, they are economically weak, no Government tax is exempted unlike people belonging to ST community, he said and added that their land can be purchased by any citizen of the country.

The whole business activity in Imphal city is handled by non-Meiteis although they are the majority community in the valley districts, he said.

Nilachandra said that six communities of Assam including Tai Ahoms and tea tribes have also been pressing the Centre to include them in the ST list.

As such, the Central Government has initiated process to recognise these communities as STs, Nilachandra said.

Once these six communities are included in the ST list, only Meiteis would remain as non-ST community in the entire North East region, he said.

Saying that the 1891 census reported Meiteis as forest tribes of Manipur, Nilachandra said that the term given to Meiteis changed to main tribe of Manipur in the 1901 census.

As such, he urged the legislators of the State to take up the issue in the upcoming Assembly session.