Manipur Health Minister Sapam Ranjan on Thursday asserted that the drop in fertility and birth rate toppled with influx of illegal immigrants created imbalance in the demography and posed a great threat to the state’s internal security.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the World Anthropology Post Congress 2023 International Seminar on the theme ‘Anthropology in Practice: Health, Culture and Security’ at Manipur University, Imphal.
Ranjan further emphasised the need to rectify this imbalance and promote growth in the state’s indigenous population.
“The development of any region is highly dependent on the preservation of culture and promotion of good health,” he said.
As such, he exhorted people to strive collectively and mete out suitable measures accordingly.
On the other hand, he highlighted that cases of kidney disease and infertility had been rampantly increasing and therefore, he called upon the people to collectively strive in rectifying this issue.
“This momentary issues could become disastrous if we fail to address them timely and properly,” he said.
On the occasion, he maintained that anthropology as an academic discipline covered every aspect of human existence and provided deep insights about society.
“It can help the government in enacting and implementing policies and measures,” he added.
He further stated that deeper discourse on the issue in Manipur through anthropological perspective could aid in understanding and even resolving the issue.
Vice chancellor of Dhanamanjuri University N Rajmohon, president of Anthropological Society of Manipur professor K Sharatchandra, former head of Department of Anthropology, Allahabad University professor Vijoy S Sahay among other distinguished anthropologists and delegates from outside the state were present the inaugural ceremony.
