Only Naga and Meetei are indigenous folks of Manipur : WMC
Urgent need for NRC underlined
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 18 2023: Contending that Meetei and Naga are the only two indigenous communities in Manipur, the World Meetei Council (WMC) has appealed to the Central Government to roll out National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur and control the Kuki armed militants.

The Council also said that the demand raised by the 10 MLAs to balkanise the State to establish a separate administration for Chin-Kuki and its kindred tribes is not acceptable.

Addressing media persons at Press Club of India at New Delhi today, WMC National spokesperson Nabakishore Singha Yumnam said that the ethnic conflict besieging the State since May 3 is the handiwork of illegal immigrants who managed to sneak into Manipur.

Saying that there is no religious angle whatsoever in the conflict, he added that the Council condemns the attack on places of worship in the strongest terms.

Claiming that wrongful addition of Chin-Kuki in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list is the root cause of the series of violence taking place in Manipur, Nabakishore alleged that immigrants have started claiming ownership of hills in Manipur to plant poppies and demand their homeland.

Expressing concern over the loss of lives and vandalisation of properties amid the conflict, he appealed to all sections of the Manipur society to exercise restraint to restore normalcy.

Nabakishore also deliberated on why the Meeteis need Constitutional safeguard.

He said that the Meeteis whose population is around 15 lakh in the latest census can live in only the valley area which constitute about 9 per cent of the total area of Manipur while every community can settle in the valley.

Nabakishore also claimed that 95 per cent of the economy of Manipur which is controlled by the Imphal Bazar areas belong to non-Meetei communities.

Saying that the continuous influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar poses a big threat to the demography and the socio economy of the indigenous people, he claimed that the Government has mistakenly granted ST status to the immigrant community.

He went on to claim that a major chunk of Kuki Chin people came to Manipur after 1951. Saying that Meeteis don't have a second home other than Manipur, Nabakishore maintained that the ethnic groups need to be given ST status to secure its future.

Nabakishore further claimed that there is a big nexus between Kuki militant groups, poppy cultivation and drug dealers and they may pose serious threats to the National security if not checked by the Centre immediately.

A section of Chin-Kuki people were not happy with the drives against poppy plantation and encroachment on protected and reserved forest areas and they started attacking Meeteis to divert the issue, Nabakishore alleged.

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