Fate of 15 lakh Meiteis in the hands of CM N Biren: WMC
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 28 2024:
Putting forward the demand to add Meeteis/Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe list once again, the World Meetei Council (WMC) has urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to send the ethnography and latest socio-economic reports of Meiteis to the Centre before the Parliamentary elections.
The WMC, in a statement, asked the Chief Minister to remember that the fate of the 15 lakh odd Meetei people of Manipur lies in his hands.
Saying that the Meeteis/Meiteis are confined to only less than 10 per cent of the total area of Manipur, the council continued that the demography of the State had witnessed a tectonic shift in the last few decades.
Meeteis who had constituted about 60 per cent of the total population of Mani-pur as per the 1971 Census have now been reduced to just about 44 per cent in the 2011 Census, the WMC maintained.
Claiming that the migrant populations have now taken over the indigenous Naga community and become the second largest population in the State, the council stated that the influx of the illegal migrants continues till now.
"On top of these developments, delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in the country including Manipur will be conducted in 2026.Delimitation means more people, more seats," the council added.
Further stating that the identity of Meeteis/Meiteis may be exposed to more severe threats in the next two or three decades if there is no corrective measure, the WMC continued that the Meetei/Meitei people need to take forward the movement to get constitutional protection in the form of Scheduled Tribe given the situation they are in.
The WMC said that they have done a thorough research on the eligibility for inclusion in ST list and Meeteis/Meiteis fulfil all the criteria.
Meetei/Meiteis have very little time as the delimitation exercise would be conducted in 2026, the WMC maintained and cautioned that the fate of Meeteis/Meiteis and the State as a whole would become more uncertain if the delimitation takes place without considering their demand to enlist them in the ST list.
"This is a question of Now or Never,!" it said with utmost urgency while urging the Chief Minister to send the two reports to the Centre before the Parliamentary elections.