MMTU urges Govt to repatriate immigrants
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 17 2024: The Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU) has urged the Government to identify and repatriate all the immigrants from the soil of Manipur at the earliest.

Highlighting that a five-member bench of the Supreme Court today passed a judgement stating that 1971 should be adopted as the cut off base year for identification of non-local people in Assam, the MMTU has asserted that it is time for Manipur to take a concrete decision on identification and repatriation of immigrants.

A statement issued by MMTU pointed out that Manipur is currently facing a serious threat to its demography on account of incessant influx of illegal immigrants.

The Manipur Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution on August 5, 2022 for implementation of NRC and adoption of 1961 as base year for identification of immigrants.

The same resolution was endorsed by the State Assembly this year, it said.

For the past many decades, Manipur has been a preferred destination for immigrants from both foreign countries and other parts of India.

As a result, the indigenous people's political space, identity, culture and economy have come under serious threats, it pointed out.

The MMTU said that the biggest challenge is the incessant influx of Kuki-Zo illegal immigrants from Myanmar.

Manipur's hill districts inhabited by Kuki-Zo people saw an alarming growth of 1556 new villages during the last 50 years.

As many as 560 villages sprang up in Churachandpur alone.

Unofficial reports say that around 2700 new villages surfaced in the hill districts inhabited by Kuki-Zo people during the last 50 years, it said.

Although the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) has been implemented in Manipur since 2020, it remains quite ineffective in checking immigration of non-local people, it lamented.

The Kuki-Zo illegal immigrants from Myanmar were not only enlisted in the voters' list but also granted Scheduled Tribe status.

They also hold Aadhaar cards as well as PAN cards.

Following enlistment of Kuki-Zo illegal immigrants from Myanmar, Churachandpur district has 1,42,732 voters while Kangpokpi has 1,03,563 voters.

The indigenous people of Manipur need to take serious note of this continuous growth of villages and population in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas, and act promptly, it said.

All the illegal immigrants must be identified and repatriated as per law at the earliest, it added.

Comment