The Meetei-Pangal Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee (MPSTDC) on Wednesday staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi demanding enlistment of the Meetei-Pangal community in the ST list.
The Meetei-Pangal community is very different from other Muslims residing in the rest of the world in aspects of culture, tradition, language and others, co-convenor of MPSTDC Moichingmayum Abdul Razaque said while speaking to the media.
He said that unfortunately the Meetei-Pangal community are living in the lowest and downward deprivations in terms of socio-economic and political, besides being the most educational backward community in Manipur.
It becomes imperative on the parts of Meitei-Pangal as a distinctive community to preserve and protect its identity which is on the verge of extinction, he said, adding deliberating all the remedy, the ST status has become the only hope for the community to protect themselves from extinction using the constitutional means.
Earlier, the MPSTDC had submitted representation for recommendation of enlisting Meetei-Pangal in the ST list to the ministry of Tribal Affairs, National Commission for Scheduled Tribe and National Commission for Minorities.
