IMPHAL, November 15: Sapamcha Jadumani, president FREINDS, in a conference in connection with the 5th Foundation day of the Federation of Regional Indigenous Societies, FREINDS at the office of the organization declared that his organization was established with the demand of establishing Inner Line Permit system in the state as in some other states of the North East region to check the influx of outsiders into the state.
Announcing that the population of outsiders in the state has reached a third of the total state population he further declared that according to the latest 2001 census, the state has a total population of 23 lakhs approx, while the outsiders have a total population of 7,04,488.
Further maintaining that the outsiders population have already gone way beyond the total population of tribals in the state, he announced that the there are only 6,70,000 (approx) tribals in the state.
The majority community Meitei has a total population of only 7,51,000 (approx) which is only about 45, 000 more than that of the outsiders population. The meitei pangals has a total population of 1,67,000 only.
He has further pointed out that it was on November 18, 1950 that the then commissioner Humat Singh had withdrawn the inner line permit from the state with a notification which has resulted in the uncontrolled influx of outsiders into the state.
He has further stressed that the state is in dangerous position in case the government fails to take up necessary actions regarding the issue and reestablished the inner line permit system in the state and put a checked to the influx of outsiders into the state.
Imposing the need of the reestablishment of the inner line permit system in the state like that of Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh at the earliest, he has added that in case we failed to checked the influx of the outsiders fast, the state will become like Tripura and Assam where most of the state administration are occupied by the outsiders today.
As a mark of the withdrawal of the inner line permit from the state on November 18, 1950, the FREINDS will be observing the day as ‘Permit System Deprivation day’ at the Manipur Press Club and has further appealed to the people to take active participation on the observation.
