Indigenous people reduced to minority status at Senapati, Jiribam: Sapamcha Jadumani

IMPHAL, May 7: As per the latest census record of India, the total population of the country stands at 117 crores out of which, the population of Manipur to .17 only. Among the districts of Manipur, around 2 lakhs are dominated by the Nepalese community who are settled in the Senapati District and far outnumber the indigenous people. 60% of the total number of population in Jiribam which is a sub-division of Imphal East District are also non indigenous. Out of about 28 thousand people in the sub-division, the population of the indigenous people stands only around eight thousand. This was was stated by Sapamcha Jadumani, Convenor of Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS), who is also President of Federation of Regional Indigenous Society (FRIENDS) at a special meeting with IFP.

He further said that the Manipur Legislative Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on July 13, 2012 with regard to the demand for the implementation of the ILP system after an agitation launched by FREINDS and JCILPS in association with the public.

The Government of Manipur officially submitted the resolution to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India August 3, 2012 to translate it into action. But the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) did not take up any action regarding the matter till date. "The Government of Manipur has still not done anything  to press the MHA for the implementation of the resolution," he said, adding that FREINDS and JCILPS will announce the course of actions/agitations to be launched with the public within some days.

He pointed out that the total population of Tripura is around 32 lakhs out of which the population of indigenous Tripuris stands at around 7 lakhs. Such a fate may fall on Manipur, Jadumani warned.

He further added that a public meeting was held at Sekmai Bazar yesterday at 9 a.m. under the aegis of the Sekmai Protection Committee comprising various eleven organizations of Sekmai in which he and co-convenors of JCILPS attended. The meeting minutely discussed the matter on increase in the number of outsiders though migrants have not settled in yet by buying the land/plot. Now that there are over 20 branch offices of FREINDS in the state, eforts will be made to open up some more branch offices at the earliest in order that they may help in trying to achieve the goal of the society, Jadumani said.