The World Meetei Council- Central Executive Committee appealed to the chief minister of Manipur to send the required ethnography and socio-economic reports to the Centre by November 24. It also warned that if the government fails to do so, the WMC will resort to general strike for 72 hours from November 25 and it will continue with all means of protests till their demand is met.
Addressing the press at Manipur Press Club, Imphal, WMC chairman Heigrujam Nabashyam on Sunday said that the government has been neglecting the demand to send ethnology and socio-economic reports to the Centre since 2013. The fact of the matter is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India has called for the two reports from the Manipur government since 2013 and the report is yet to be submitted, Nabashyam stated. He alleged the state government of denying the Meetei rightful representation of facts, terming it completely unacceptable.
He said that the Manipur government is extremely unfair with the Meetei community who are the rightful citizens of Manipur. Meetei have the right to live only in the valley area of Manipur which constitute only 9 per cent of the liveable area of Manipur. And the rest of Manipur is kept protected for the native indigenous people by the Constitution of India. But the fact is Meetei and Nagas are the two native indigenous people of Manipur, WMC chairman stated and asked if injustice is being done against the Meetei people.
It is extremely unfortunate that the Manipur government has been delaying their natural and legal rights, he said.
As per government statistical data, Meeteis could be decimated in the next few decades, Nabashyam said, that WMC understands that with the unchecked influx of illegal migrants from across the borders Manipur’s demography has been greatly disturbed. It has made all the more important to give due recognition to the Meetei as native indigenous people by enlisting them in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Therefore, if the Manipur government continues to do injustice to the Meetei then WMC would be left with no choice but to go to any extent to get justice for the Meetei people, it is for our future and our children, Heigrujam Nabashyam said.
Further, WMC and CSOs appealed to all the people of Manipur to bear with the difficulties because if this injustice against the Meetei is not stopped then Manipur could be in turmoil in the very near future.
