IMPHAL, December 7: A two day Tribal Seminar on the theme “Civilization along with our tribal traditional and cultural ethos” was inaugurated today at the Tribal Research Institute.
The seminar has been organized by the Steering Committee on Mega Manipur Tribal, Seminar (AMTU, TLRCC, COPTAM, TNAL, ATCFM and ATWO).
In his key-note address, steering committee, convenor, Romeo Bungdon said, “… human civilization is very keenly relevant to tradition, custom and culture based on such achievements in the field of education, invention, discovery socio-economic and socio political affairs.”
He further expressed, “The tribal people of the state are economically downtrodden, socially feeble and politically conjured/tricked due to insincerity of the state government in implementing tribal provisions”.
He lamented further that the insincerity of the state government is the reason why the constitutional provisions under Article 3719 (c) is less effective to bring about tribal development as well as safe guarding the tribal interest.
He said, “The seminar has been organized to disseminate awareness so as to incarnate or formulate a mechanism in tribal unison to retireve back the diminishing constitutional privileges as prompted.
COPTAM chairman, Letpu Haokip demanded transfer of hill land records from the adjoining valley districts to their respective hill district headquarters and maintenance of land records by the respective Autonomous District Council to check any overlapping of villages in both valley and hill districts.
He further demanded the state government to ensure that the original district boundary is restored and maintained on the basis of the villages’ land boundary recognised and recorded in the Manipur State Hill Peoples’ (Administration) Regulation, 1947.
The fact that some pockets of the hill areas of Manipur are ‘surveyed land’ is never a valid argument for transferring the said villages/areas to valley district or converted them into a Revenue district.
He also continued on several issues.
Citing that the proposed Manipur (Village Authority in Hill Areas), 2nd Amendment Act, 2011 posed a direct threat to the existing traditional tribal chieftainship institution and tribal right over land and premature to abolished chieftainship without giving constitutional safeguard to the tradition institution and that the proposed Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council, 4th Amendment Act, 2011 has failed to address the core issue of giving legislative, judiciary and financial power to the ADC, he said, the CoPTAM opposes in toto both the Acts.
Other demands include, “Any parts of hill districts which have been included in the Municipality/Panchayati Raj sould be totally withdrawn immediately as it contradict the Manipur Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 and is also without the consent and approval of the Hill Area Committee and that there should not be Municipality/Panchayat election in the hill districts.
The CoPTAM chairman also placed demands regarding police boundary of hill villages and said more police stations and outpost should be created within the hill areas instead of mixing it up with the general district administration.
He continued that the CopTAM is constraint to demand extension of appropriate constitutional safeguards as enshrined in the Indian Constitution to the tribals of the state.
Meanwhile, Professor Gangmumei Kamei speaking on the topic ‘Hill Area Committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly: An Assesment”, said that a rapid appraisal of the working of the Hill Area Committee during the last 40 years has unfortunately shown that it has failed to act as an effective committee, to protect the interest of the hill people.