Volunteers of six student bodies held demonstrations at Tiddim Road near Kwakeithel Bazar in Imphal West on Thursday, demanding formulation of a Language Policy and establishment of a State Population Commission.
The six student’s bodies are All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Singpang Lup (AIMS), Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) and Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF) and Students Union of Kangleipak (SUK).
The state government has not taken up any steps to promote the Manipuri language and preserve the indigenous population despite repeated appeals made by the student bodies; therefore, the students are compelled to take up such a protest, said president of AMSU Chalamba Meitei while speaking to the media.
Meitei Mayek is now taught at the Master’s degree in universities and colleges but no reference books are published yet in Meitei mayek, he said. This has caused a great inconvenience to the students who have opted Meitei Mayek as a subject in pursuing competitive examinations like NEET and UPSC, he added.
Meanwhile, there is a demographic imbalance in the state due to the continuous influx of illegal immigrants, he said. It is the urgent need of the hour to establish a State Population Commission and update the NRC to restore the demographic of Manipur, he added.
Regarding these two issues, the president appealed to the state government to discuss the formulation of a Language Policy establishment of the Population Commission during the ongoing State Assembly session.
Failure to comply with their demands will lead the six student bodies to execute intensive forms of agitations, Chalamba cautioned.
Regarding the issue of selling duplicate ‘Eyong Fi’ (a Meetei traditional dress) imported from outside states, he urged the state government to ban the selling of such clothes.
He, however, welcomed chief minister N Biren’s statement to make the price of the raw material (thread) of Eyong Fi affordable and cheaper.
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