Imphal, Jun 19: Following the dismissal of a civil appeal filed by the Manipur Government by the Supreme Court on March 8 this year and in the aftermath of a PIL filed by one Bishnupriya, Chandrakanta by name, in the Gauhati High Court, the identity of Manipuris have come under serious threat which is more pronounced in case of Manipuris settling outside the State like in Assam, Tripura etc.

The pride and dignity of being a Manipuri is being compromised as there are circumstances when other peoples asked a Manipuri outside the State if he/she is a Manipuri or a Bishnupriya Manipuri.

The PIL filed at the Gauhati High Court prayed for inclusion of Bishnupriya Manipuri in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution just as the Manipuri language and to extend all the advantages and benefits due to a scheduled language to Bishnupriya Manipuri for Manipuri language has already been declared a scheduled language.

Even though the Supreme Court dismissed the civil appeal no 4796-4797 of 2000 filed by the State Government, it does not mean that the issue has been settled for good, commented a legal expert.

As there was no room for interference in the Gauhati High Court ruling, a division bench of the Supreme Court constituted by Justice Ruma Pal and Justice Dalveer Bhandari dismissed the State's appeal.

They noted, "We see no reason to interfere with the order under challenge.

The appeals are, accordingly, dismissed".

It is interesting to note here that the civil appeal filed by the State Government was against a ruling of the Gauhati High Court in connection with the issue.

Moreover, the ruling of the Gauhati High Court did not contain any clause that can be construed as a final verdict on the Bishnupriya issue.

The High Court's ruling said that "adjudication of the dispute will require a study into the origin, history and culture of the two communities and the Court exercising powers under Article 226 of the Constitution is ill-equipped and ill-suited to decide this intricate dispute.

"We are therefore not inclined to issue a declaration that the word 'Manipuri' cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the word Bishnupriya".

Even as the Supreme Court contended there was no room for interference in the Gauhati High Court ruling, legal experts observed the ruling of the High Court did not provide a solution to the issue and it is not in a position to pass a final verdict until and unless the arguments and counter arguments are verified through a thorough research of the history and culture of the two communities as mentioned in its ruling.

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