Friends Union Club, Yaipha Thouni Nupi Lup of Khurai Heikrumakhong under the initiative of Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee Manipur (STDCM) jointly organised a sit-in protest at Khurai Heikrumakhong in Imphal East reiterating their demand to enlist Meitei or Meetei in Scheduled Tribe list on Sunday.
With this protest, the democratic form of agitation launched by STDCM has almost completed 38 days. However, the state government has not given a single response till date.
STDCM Youth Wing convenor N Edison said the ongoing agitation of the STDCM has almost completed 38 days but not a single response has been received by the committee from state government side till date. Such irresponsible acts of the state provoked them to intensify their agitation that may even affect the livelihood of many people of state, he added.
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He further said that even the Kurmi community in West Bengal, which is 20 times larger than the population of Meitei or Meetei, had demanded recognition as a scheduled tribe. They made this demand following the threat of their survival, he said.
Not only this, in many other states of India, demands have been launched for inclusion in the scheduled tribe list. The government of Manipur should know this kind of movements taking place, he said and appealed to the government for understanding the sentiment of people of state and submit the necessary recommendation for inclusion of Meitei or Meetei in ST list.
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