Meira Paibi leader points finger at Delhi

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jun 22 : Veteran meira paibi leader and Nupi Samaj president Thokchom Ramani has accused the Government of India of unleashing the chain of violence in Manipur.
She elaborated that the deadly violence which has rendered thousands of families homeless and claimed the lives of over 100  people could have been prevented had the Government taken serious note of the alarm being raised by students of foreign Nationals settling in Manipur illegally since the last many years.
Speaking to The Sangai Express, the veteran meira paibi also reminded about the Anti-Foreigners’ Movement of 1980 carried out by the students and meira paibis under the aegis of All Manipur Students’ Coordinating Committee (AMSCOC) and another prominent students’ organization.
Ramani continued that the indigenous Manipuris living in the State have been expressing strong apprehension about the demographic imbalance caused by the incessant influx of foreign Nationals from Myanmar, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries through West Bengal, Assam and other  States to Manipur to both the successive Union Governments and the State Governments since the past many years.
Saying that the Governments, however, didn't take up any concrete action to detect and deport the illegal immigrants to dispel the fear of the people, Ramani said this failure on the part of the Government is directly associated with the abnormal growth of illegal immigrants in the State.
Ramani further claimed that these illegal immigrants from Myanmar now have the audacity to wage a war against the State apart from exploiting the land and resources of Manipur through unsanctioned settlement and poppy cultivation.
It may be mentioned that the State Government, AMSCOC and another student organization spearheading the Anti-Foreigners’ Movement had signed an agreement consisting many important points, including initiation of the process of identification and detection of Foreign Nationals on the basis of the 1951 Census report, NRC (1951) and Village Directory (1951) from August 1, 1980.
The agreement also included expelling the unlawful settlers from the Reserved areas, Protected areas, khaslands and other reserved areas of the State and insertion of a specific Sub-section in MLR & LR Act, 1950 (under Section 158) to check the transfer of immovable properties from Manipur to non-Manipuris in Central District (Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur not carved out as separate districts at the time).