Manipur: Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee to hold mega public convention over ST status on October 13

Pursuing its demand to enlist Meetei/Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list of the Indian Constitution, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) has now decided to hold a mega public convention on the 13th of October to decide its fate of the ST status.

Further, with no communication or diktat from the Manipur government with regard to the demand for the inclusion of the indigenous Meitei community in the ST list of India, the STDCM will be holding this mega public convention.

It is to be mentioned here that the STDCM has been protesting for the past 40 days, meanwhile on October 5, the STDCM along with women vendors of Pishumthong, Keithel Macha, also staged a sit-in at Pishumthong in Imphal. 

On the other hand, STDCM working president L. Lokendra informed that the convention will decide the future course of action as the democratic forms of agitation have not been honoured by the government.

Further, he stated that the Chief Minister along with the government should be proactive so that there are visible results instead of repeatedly claiming that they are considering or discussing it.

Earlier in a protest on October 2, one of the protesters asked the Government to send the recommendations sought by the Centre so that Meetei/Meitei could be granted some sort of Constitutional protection.

Saying that it wasn't right for the Government to sideline the movement spearheaded by STDCM, he urged the Government to understand the sentiments of the people and send the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the ethnic group at the earliest.