Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) resumed its campaign pressing the Manipur government to do the needful for the inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe list of India on August 26.
To mark the resumption of the campaign, members of the committee staged a sit-in-protest in Imphal’s Keishampat Junction on August 26.
“No ST status, no rail line,” “We demand ST status for Meetei/Meitei,” “We want action, no words,” read some of the placards displayed at the protest site.
Talking to reporters, STDCM president, Yumnam Dhiraj expressed strong discontentment while alleging that the Manipur government still remains silent on the demand.
He said that the STDCM has been pressing the state government to furnish its mandatory recommendation for including the Meetei/Meitei in the ST list of Indian Constitution. However, the same is yet to be translated into action, he also said.
“The most important issue in the fore of the Meetei/Meitei community is to have a constitution safeguard and ST status is the only means to get the constitution protection for the indigenous community,” he added.
Dhiraj stated that railway lines reaching Manipur are no reason to be happy since the indigenous Meetei/Meitei may be pushed to extinction with the possibility of an overwhelming number of migrants.
As such, the indigenous people need to be given constitutional safeguard by granting ST status, he observed.
