IMPHAL, Jan 10 NNN: All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM) has threatened today that it would impose a 24-hour Manipur bandh from midnight of January 18 if the demands apprised to the state government on November 27 last year are not addressed by the state government. ATSUM further warned that in the event of the failure from the state government side to act even after the 24-hour bandh, the student body will announce its further course of action on January 20.
An ultimatum to this regard was submitted today to the chief minister by the ATSUM today.
On November 27 last year, ATSUM had apprised the government of Manipur to address issues pertaining to tribal people of Manipur and the hill districts.
The apex tribal students’ body of Manipur in its lengthy memorandum submitted to the chief minister of Manipur had demanded Manipur State Commission for the Scheduled Tribes.
ATSUM also demanded for the setting up of B.Ed centres in the hill districts. It also demanded that adequate teaching and non-teaching staff in the education institutions in the hill districts with better infrastructure.
Signed by its president Maun Tombing and its general secretary Vareiyo Shatsang, ATSUM in its memorandum said, “It has been our long standing aspiration to find a State Commission ofthe Scheduled Tribes in Manipur under the Article 338A of the Indian Constitution which would usher in all round Development and progress in respect of thee Tribal people in this eastern most part of the Indian Union. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes which came in to force on 19th February, 2004 has failed to provide adequate service to the state of Manipur a it is based on the distant centre in Shillong”.
According to the ATSUM memorandum, the state of Karnataka in 2002 had established the State Commission for SC/ST under the name and style ‘The Karnataka State Commission
for Scheduled Tribes Act, 2002′. It said the tribal population is the second largest in the state of Manipur but the pace of development is rather too slow till today comparing to that of the non-tribal populace. There has been the Manipur state Commission for OBC which meant to safeguard the rights of the other backward classes, the ATSUM representation added.
Manipur State Commission for the ST be set up in the earnest date, the tribal students’ body stated.
ATSUM then demanded for the setting up of B.Ed centres in hill districts of Manipur.
“Even the HSLC examination centres are very often treated as temporary arrangement subject to omission and commission. It is demanded that B.Ed centres be set up in all the five hilldistricts where TET can be conducted,” the tribal students’ body demanded.
The memorandum of ATSUM also mentioned that the crisis in the newly set up Indra Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) Regional Compus in Manipur is put to a situation of breaking down totally because all the required infrastructures and issues have not been properly attended to by the authorities concerned.
One point of the ATSUM memorandum said, “We demand adequate number of both teaching and non-teaching staff in the educational institutions in the hill areas of Manipur state.
We also demand that proper infrastructures for the educational institutions in the five hill districts be provided promptly as to facilitate smooth functioning of the academic sessions”.
“The recruitment of junior Manipur Civil Service (MCS) rule latest amendment published in Manipur Gazette Extra Ordinary Dt. 06/03/2012 U/S 2(2) & (3) clearly states that there shall be 2 grades i.e. (I). Junior MCS, Junior Grade (II) Senior MCS, Senior Grade. The clauses 3 states that the post of Junior MCS, senior Grade shall be class I Gazetted while the
post of Junior MCS, Junior Grade be Class II Gazetted. We demand that justice be delivered at the time of conducting DPC in respect of SC & ST requiring promotion in accordance with the Manipur Reservation of vacancies in posts and Services (for ST&SC) Rules, 2011 published on 17/05/2011,” another part of the tribal students’ body memo pointed out.
The memo also touched on the tribal rights and the issue of the natural resources and said, “Protection of the rights of the indigenous tribal people over the land, forest and management of natural resources in the hill areas of Manipur should be taken care of by the Government as to dispense of justice.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/atsum-may-impose-bandh/
