IMPHAL, APRIL 29 (NNN): The All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur (ATSUM) said “civil unrest and violence” that erupted on Friday in Churachandpur was a throwback to the infamous three Bills that fuelled the “tribal uprising” in August 2016.
ATSUM said the “violent street protest” was not a spontaneous phenomenon but an outburst of growing dissent against the “adverse and regressive policies” of the present government of Manipur.
It stated that the forest and land survey, with an objective of evicting villages in the survey areas, is a direct affront to tribal hill people. Surveys of the forest areas in the hills of Manipur that are supposedly “reserved forests/protected forests/wildlife sanctuaries” have drawn lots of flak from “tribal communities because there were procedural lapses when these forests were declared as such”.
ATSUM alleged that many of these forest reserves were declared by the government without the consent and knowledge of the local villagers.
“The Hill Areas Committee of the Manipur legislative Assembly, on 11th March 2021 vide its resolution No. 38/2020-(HAC) had also resolved even to the extent that these reserved forest/protected forest/ wild life sanctuaries shall not be enforced by the departments without the approval of the Hill Areas Committee. And yet the government has not properly implemented this recommendation,” it added.
The “state government's highhandedness” towards the tribals and “insensitive handling” of the situation had also led to this current violence and protest in Churachandpur. “Despatching commando forces from a neighbouring district to suppress the protestors and to stifle the voice of dissent had also aggravated the situation. Instead of trying to calm the public and find an amicable solution that will allay their grievances the government imposed its forces and angered the public beyond control. Such attitude and approach of the government is unfortunate and condemnable because as many as 25 people have been injured including the two who are in critical condition,” it stated.
While appealing for peace and calm in the state, ATSUM said it “takes a strong exception” to the “communal rhetoric of some valley based civil organisations” such as WMC and KKL. It said that the majority of the tribal people understood the diabolical agenda of these organisations and as such their efforts to disintegrate the tribal communities will be futile. The vast majority of the tribal people has now felt the urgent need for unity to safeguard our own rights and interests, it stated.
In the pursuit of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status these organisations are further alienating the tribal hill people from the valley people, and the unity and integrity of the people of the state is at stake. The government of Manipur should immediately intervene to stop these communal tones from spiralling it out of control, it added.
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