Rallies held in hills
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, August 10 2010: Hundreds of tribals today demonstrated against alleged distortion of district boundaries in the census 2011 during simultaneous rallies marched at six places in areas of hill districts and demanded protection of rights and lands of the tribals.

The Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas, Manipur (COPTAM) with the support of various Kuki based civil bodies organised the rallies alleging that in the ongoing Census Operation 2011 original inter-state district boundaries have been altered affecting tribal lands.

Memoranda were submitted to the DC, SDO and ADC concerns at the concluding part of the rallies in which the committee set the deadline to translate their demands into work within August 12 and threatened that intensified democratic forms of agitations will follow if government fails to address the demands.

Mass protest rally in hill areas against state government organised by COPTAM

The rallies were carried at Churachandpur district headquarters, Moreh town and Zaphou Bazar in Chandel district, Saikul and Kangpokpi under Sadar Hills of Senapati district and Litan of Ukhrul district at around 11 am with public meetings before the rallies.

A satellite map of Manipur was also burnt down by demonstrators at Kangpokpi during the rally to protest against alleged distortion of district boundaries in the map.

The rallies were carried out peacefully without any untoward incident with the participation of a good numbers of people mostly womenfolk, reports culled out from venues informed adding that various slogans decrying overlapping in census operation and disturbing district boundaries were shouted as well as displayed.

Placards that read "Restore original boundaries of districts', 'GoI save us and our land', 'No compromise on tribal land rights', 'Stop encroaching our land, return our land records', 'Stop atrocities towards tribals', 'Without justice no integration', 'No bargain with our land', 'Overlapping census is nonsense', etc.

were displayed in the rallies.

A memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister through the DCs of Churachandpur and Chandel districts and ADC of Sadar Hills, AD of Moreh and SDOs of Saikul sub-division and Litan of Ukhrul district demanded de-linking of revenue collection from Census Operation and district boundary demarcation, immediate conduct of Census for the overlapping villages by concerned hill districts as was done till 2001 Census among others.

Maintaining of land records in the respective hill districts and collection of land revenues thereof by the concerned hill districts and initiation of constitutional protection of Manipur tribal areas as was done in all tribal areas of North-East India, are other demands laid down in the memorandum.

Speaking to reporters after the rallies were carried out peacefully, chairman of COPTAM, Sadar Hills, Lamcha Chongloi said that if the state government fails to give a response to the memorandum submitted today, they will be compelled to launch intensified forms of agitations.

The protests will be launched by COPTAM with the support of the other hill based civil organisations.

He also said that they are not pressing the government to give demands which will hurt the integrity of the state.

They are demanding justice only for maintaining peaceful co-existence of the people of different communities.

For peaceful co-existence among the different communities in the state, there is the need for a fair and smooth conduct in the ongoing Census Operation 2011, he said.

He also claimed that COPTAM gets the support of UNC, ANSAM, ATSUM, KSO, ZSUM, Kuki Inpi, etc.

in their demands for fair and smooth conduct of the Census Operation, 2011 .