The All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM), the apex body of tribal students in Manipur appealed to the tribals in the state to vote for representatives whose vision, competence, and integrity will be able to pick up the course of the new Hill Areas Committee ADC Bill 2021 and translated it into Act.
A press communique signed by the student body president Paotinthang Lupheng and general secretary SR Andria stated that ATSUM as a vanguard for the defense of the rights and interest of 1.3 million tribal populace felt it pertinent to issue a clarion call to all the tribal electors to stand firmly in unity for the collective future in the upcoming 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly election 2022.
Since independence, the tribals in the state have lived as a neglected population despite the guarantees in the Indian constitution through Article 371C, it asserted. “We appreciate the Hill Area Committee for their historic unison across party lines and ethnic divides to unanimously adopt the Manipur Hill Area Autonomous District Councils Bill 2021 on 16th of August, 2021”, it added.
It stated that ATSUM with the unrelenting support of Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) and All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) has been impressing the present BJP-led Government to table the Bill and take it forward.
However, we are extremely disappointed at the response and position of the state Government which continues to deliberately deny our advancement as equal citizens of this state, it added.
It also said that our only hope of translating our collective ideals is by electing representatives who would embark this collective demand to translate the new HAC ADC Bill 2021 into a reality.
We, therefore, urge all the tribal candidates across the political spectrum to give a primary commitment to the new HAC ADC Bill 2021, keeping aside your respective party manifestoes and policies, it added.
Anything else is appeasement that cannot usher a collective transformation for the whole tribals, it said and urged all the candidates to explicitly voice their positions on the new HAC ADC Bill 2021.
ATSUM also urged to all the tribals to continue to stand in firm unison at such a decisive juncture and collectively voice this sole demand and cast our sacrosanct vote for only such futuristic leaders who commit for tribal rights.