"Meitei/Meetei ST demand not infringement upon others' rights", says STDCM

The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) has once again urged the authorities to recognize the Meitei/Meetei community as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) under the Constitution of India. In a press release issued on July 28, the committee clarified that their demand does not aim to infringe upon the rights or interests of other tribal communities in the state.

The STDCM revealed that it had sought an appointment with the Governor to personally present a memorandum highlighting what it perceives to be the root causes of the current unrest and explaining the long-standing rationale behind the ST status demand. However, in the absence of any response, the committee went ahead and submitted the memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

The committee recalled that the violent clashes which broke out on May 3, 2023, coincided with the “Tribal Solidarity March” organized by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM). The march was staged in protest against the Manipur High Court’s order dated April 19, 2023, which directed the state government to consider the ST status demand of the Meitei/Meetei community. The STDCM, however, maintained that the court order itself was not the root cause of the violence, as widely claimed, but rather the reaction to it, particularly in areas dominated by certain tribal groups.

"Unfortunately, some people even including those from highly responsible government authorities have made observations that the said Manipur High Court's order regarding the Meitei/Meetel's ST status demand is the root cause of the present crisis. STDCM has been refuting this allegation since the beginning of this crisis because the violent incidents broke out only in the areas where the Kuki and allied groups are predominantly inhabited, whereas the rally was concluded peacefully in the areas Inhabited by the other 20 odd plus non- Kuki groups' tribes of the State. Had the High Court's order been the root cause of the crisis, definitely, violent incidents would have occured in the areas inhabited predominantly by the tribes other than the Kuki groups", stated STDCM.

“The same march concluded peacefully in regions inhabited by other non-Kuki tribes,” the STDCM emphasized, reiterating that its cause has been wrongly portrayed as antagonistic to the interests of other indigenous groups.

The memorandum further stated that the Meitei/Meetei community is one of the principal indigenous groups of Manipur, yet it has been excluded from the ST list since 1951—“for reasons best known to the Government.” Due to this exclusion, the community has reportedly been deprived of constitutional safeguards for over 70 years, leaving it vulnerable to marginalization and what the committee describes as “potential extinction in their own ancestral land.”

Highlighting the urgency of the matter, the STDCM urged both the State and Central Governments to take serious and immediate action on the demand. The committee insisted that granting ST status to Meiteis/Meeteis would help preserve their identity and ensure their rightful place among the indigenous peoples of Manipur, while also fostering harmony and equality across all ethnic communities in the state.