Public meeting demands re-introduction of ILPS
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 18 2011: A public meeting held today at Manipur Press Club here called for re-introduction of the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) in Manipur at the earliest.

The ILPS which was already in force was revoked by an order issued by the then Chief Commissioner of Manipur Himat Singh on November 18, 1950 .

Remembering this day, Federation of Regional Indigenous Societies (FREINDS) has been observing November 18 as Permit System Deprivation Day every year.

The public meeting was attended by ex-Minister Mingthing Tangkhul, FREINDS president Sapamcha Jadumani and advisor H Kulla as presidium members.

Giving key-note address of the function, FREINDS secretary general joy Chingakham recalled that Manipur was a sovereign kingdom having its own written history extending more than 2000 years back.

To check influx of outsiders into Manipur, the Manipur Durbar enforced a permit or passport system and it was in force till November 17, 1950 .

The permit system was abolished after Manipur was forcibly merged into India, Joy alleged.

Quoting the census report of 2001, he stated that outsiders have formed one-third of the total population of Manipur.

Whereas the population of outsiders was recorded to be 7,08,488, the number of indigenous hill people was 6,70,782 .

When numerically bigger communities settle together with smaller communities, steady dilution and eventual assimilation of the culture, tradition, customs, social practices, ethos and identity of the smaller nations into those of the bigger communities is only natural, he asserted.

To protect the identity and culture of the racially different Northeastern people from mainland Indians who constitute 95.7 per cent of the total population of India, inner line permit system should be enforced under Indian Constitution all over the region, he demanded.

Pointing out that inner line permit system is enforced in Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, Joy said that outsiders are not allowed permanent settlement or own land in these States.

A similar system should be enforced in Manipur too and outsiders should not be allowed permanent settlement, he demanded.

Advocate Gourahari stated that revocation of ILPS from Manipur was tantamount to forfeiting all the rights of Manipuri people.

When ILPS was in force influx of outsiders into Manipur was 14 per cent after it was revoked, the rate of influx has reached 35 per cent.

Observing that India has no specific policy to protest indigenous people, Gourahari clarified that re-introduction of ILPS does not mean barring all outsiders from entering Manipur but its simply means monitoring their entry and stay in the State.

Yumnamcha Dilip of UCM asserted that ILPS does not defy the Constitution of India.

As the influx of outsiders affected the economy and culture of the indigenous people, they have the right to raise objection to the continuous influx, Dilip said.

Instead of harbouring a sense of insecurity that plain people would make their settlement in hill areas once a uniform land law is enforced in Manipur, hill people need to monitor outsiders who have made their settlement in hill areas.

Rose Mangshi Haokip said that the call for re-introducing ILPS need not be derailed by differences in ethnicity, language or religion.

All the indigenous people need to join hands and ensure that the State Assembly adopt a resolution towards enforcing ILPS in Manipur.

Comment