Mail News Service
Imphal, July 13 : The All India Tribal Students Association, (AITSA) Delhi / Manipur, welcomes the demand for Meitei to return back to its original Mongoloid tribal family, after more than 60 years of being misled and wandering as a higher caste / general category.
K.Zou President of AITSA, and Convener, Mongoloid Peoples forum, stated that, if the cohesive existence of the people of Manipur, who were divided into Tribal, scheduled caste and general, after the merger of Manipur to the
Indian Union in 1949 can be restored by recognizing the general Meitei as scheduled tribe . The bold step taken by the STDCM, can turn Manipur into a tribal state like Nagaland, Mizoram etc, wherein, the state resources including employment can be equally divided within the various tribes and no particular tribe can take the lion’s share of the benefits. The Meitei Scheduled caste communities from Sekmai, Andhro, Khurkhur, Kotha, Phayeng, Chairel, etc, should also be included in the list of scheduled tribes. An ideal Manipur will emerge only when we can share and respect our rightful entitlement.
Debarring a tribal officer from availing his procedural course of promotion in the high office of the state secretariat will be done away when Manipur become a tribal state.
However, if the intention of the STDCM is merely for the purpose of getting the benefits of reservation in employment, UPSC, and begging for “loli pops” as a scheduled tribe community (the most backward and dishonored community in the country), it shall not be in the interest of the larger mongoloid tribal community. Mongoloid tribes of the Himalayan range are already reduced to a mere chinki / chini /pahari `scheduled tribe / caste / OBC in the country, psychology branded as unnatural Indian in the mainland. We are not beggar in our own land. We need our rightful share of entitlement (Quota) as people of Northeast Region and not as SC/ST/OBC alone.
K. Zou further stated that, reservation policy is more of a positive discrimination than a protection. A general candidate can get job all over the country but SC/ST can apply only in the central and the state in which they are recognized and not as a general candidate. As of now, a Meitei can apply job all over the country which will not be possible after recognizing them as ST .
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/aitsa-supports-entry-of-meitei-into-st-fold/
