Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 29 2009:
The Manipur University Tribal Students' Union (MUTSU) has deprecated the site selected for establishment of a regional centre of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU).
A press release issued by MUTSU observed that the selected site is located partly in Imphal West district and partly in Senapati district.
The area is inhabited by a localised chunk of Liangmei tribes and major areas on the east is inhabited by a large population of Nepali community and the southern side is populated by a number of villages belonging to Scheduled Caste Meitei community, it said.
Asserting that tribals are purely minority as far as the present proposed site is concerned, MUTSU alleged that selected of the proposed site was in contravention of the IGNTU Act 2007 which stated that 'the site of the university should be located in between the population predominantly inhabited by the tribal community'.
Decrying the arbitrary decision of the Government in finalising the site, MUTSU demanded that the regional centre of IGNTU should be set up at any one of the sites already surveyed by concern committees in the larger interest of the coming generations and not at the whims of some selfish MLAs.
It further invited tribal intellectuals, social workers, students and other organisations to share their thoughts on the matter.