‘Base year in ILP is to give privilege for free entry and settlement to non-indigenous people’
IT News
Imphal, June 23:
A day after the state cabinet of the N. Biren Singh led government has approved for inclusion of the base year for the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) as 1961, the Federation of Haomee (FoH) has come out with strong objection questing the need for a base year in the ILPS instead of implementing National Register of Citizenship (NRC) under a base year.
“Government should give a clear definition of the native people in the ILPS being implemented in the state”, a statement by Sapamcha Jadumani, President of Federation of Haomee said, adding that inclusion of base year as 1961 will only give an opportunity to the non-indigenous people in entering and settling in the state.
“Base year for the ILPS means, this regulation will not cover the non-indigenous people who have entered and settled in the state before 1961”, Jadumani said.
The state cabinet should have taken the decision after studying the modalities of how the ILPS is being implemented in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland, the president of Haomee said.
It said that there is no base year in the ILPS being implemented in the three states of North East India. The ILPS covers all the non-indigenous people, that is why the regulation protects the indigenous people by the three states. Outsiders, who have settled for the last 100 to 500 years are still treated as non-indigenous outsiders by the three states under the regulation, the Haomee statement said.
Even as the ILPS has been passed by the parliament on December 11, 2019, and came into effect on January 1 of 2020, the state government still did not give any definition of the native people. By the inclusion of the base year as 1961, all the non-indigenous people who have entered from other parts of India as well as from the neighboring country will identify as indigenous people, the Haomee said.
“This act is nothing but to end the existence of the indigenous people whose population is in threatening condition”, the statement by Haomee said.
The statement by the president of the Federation of Haomee (FoH) also shows serious concern to the inaction of the government of India and Manipur in deporting the foreigners who have illegally entered and settled in the state.
“The Government of India and Manipur have never taken up any steps to deport the illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar who have entered the state under the Foreigners Act 1946”, the statement said. This makes the existence of the indigenous people threatened.
“If the intention of the Government of Manipur is to protect the indigenous people of the state then the need of the hour is to trace out the non-indigenous illegal settlers and should give a proper definition of the native people”, the Haomee said.
The government should implement NRC keeping the base year as 1951, the statement added.
The Federation of Haomee also reminded the agreement reached between AMSU and AMSCOC with the then Chief Minister of Manipur R.K. Dorendro on July 22, and August 5, 1980 and also the agreement reached between the then Governor of Manipur V.K. Nair on November 9, 1994. In both the agreement it was stated to detect and deport foreigners based on the report of the National Register of Citizens, 1951 and also as per the village directory 1951.
“Inclusion of base year in the ILPS is to be-fool the people by diverting the real issue”, Haomee said and urged the government to revoke the cabinet decision adopted yesterday for inclusion of base year in the ILPS.
