The Scheduled Tribe demand committee of Manipur (STDCM) today urged the state government to pass a bill for inclusion of Meitei community in Scheduled Tribe (ST) category during the upcoming state assembly session which will begin from June 26.
Speaking to media persons at Manipur Press Club today, Dr L. Lokendro, General Secretary STDCM said that the committee will be compelled to launch various form of agitations if the government failed to table a bill for inclusion of the Meitei community in ST category in the upcoming monsoon session.
Lokendro further said that the Meitei/Meetei was counted as Scheduled Tribe category according to the census records of 1891, 1901, and 1931. However, the Meitei community was removed from the ST category from the official gazette of 1951 without any communication to the people of Manipur or to the government of Manipur, without obtaining approval of the Minister of Tribal Affairs, Delhi.
Dr. Y Mohendra President of the committee while speaking on the occasion said that both the center and the state government has been enlighten about the facts of the Meitei community to be included among the scheduled tribe category. He said the inclusion of the Meitei people to scheduled cast will help to preserve the identity of the Meitei people which is becoming endangered with the flooding of outsider in the state.