Imphal, November 03 2017: Reiterating their objection to the demand for enlistment of Meitei/Meetei in the ST category, the Protection and Preservation Committee Manipur (PPCM) today submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister N Biren.
Speaking to media persons at their Wahengbam Leikai office today, PPCM convenor Nongthombam Bimol pointed out that Manipur has a written history spanning over 2000 years and as shown by their literature, culture, agricultural practices etc, which were recorded in the Cheitharol Kumbaba (royal chronicles), Meiteis/Meeteis had attained a high level of civilization .
Before Meiteis/Meeteis adopted Hinduism, they followed Sanamahism and Sanamahism is in no way inferior to Hinduism, Bimol said .
It sounds rather irrational that a community which had already attained a high level of civilization having its own language, culture, literature and history must regress to the status of Scheduled Tribe, he remarked .
Noting that ST communities of the State have expressed vehement opposition against the demand for enlistment of Meitei/Meetei in ST category, Bimol cautioned that the same demand has all the potential to push the whole State into a chaotic situation apart from sparking fresh inter-community conflicts.
Source: The Sangai Express
PPCM can you please suggest a concrete and practicable step under the Indian Constitution to prevent non indigenous migrants/immigrants from entering our state assembly, zilla parishads, panchayats etc? Can you please define geographical space of arable land mass where majority Meitei could practice cultivation and dwelling for livelihood? Can you guarantee that another Jiribam will not happen in the next election? Can you please protect the land space of majority Meitei, who once ruled from Surma valley in the west to Kabaw valley in the east, from being occupied by others including tribals who have vast reserve areas? Can we preserve our culture when we have lost our land, polity, economy?
I wonder if anyone in PPCM knows the meaning of Schedule Tribes. If anyone of them know then they will not do such activities. If they know and doing this activities then there is only one logical explanation and that is “as most of the people in PPCM are involved in one NGO or other, as NGOs need some problems to attract western fund givers, and as a part of Act east policies and counter Belt and Road initiative of China, India is making highways and railway passing to Northeast India but in next few months all northeast will be ST states and the western companies can’t own land to do business. And the only available land is Imphal valley which mostly inhabited by Meitei (general) and from them the western companies can buy land. Therefore these PPCM people gets money from western MNC to opposed Meitei as ST through NGOs.”