IMPHAL, November 23: A delegate of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System met Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Manipur Inner Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituency, MP, Dr Th Meinya at the Ministry of Home Affairs office today.
According to a press statement of the committee’s media coordinator, the meeting was amicable upto an extent; however a query from the Union Home Minister on the merits in implementing ILP has raised many questions about whether the Union Government takes the issue in a serious manner.
It has continued that even though the meeting was ‘diplomatically cordial’; regarding the failure of the Centre to provide any written or verbatim commitment on the issue, the committee has no other option but to continue with its stir.
It continued that during the meeting which lasted for about 45 minutes, the ILP delegate briefed the Union Minister on the need to implement the Inner Line Permit in the state and on the people’s voice which has been calling for the ILP’s implementation in the state.
During the said meeting, the ILP delegate also submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister.
In the memorandum which was submitted today, the committee has invited the attention of the Centre on the ILP issue and said that the indigenous population of the state is highly alarmed with the threat of loss of identity, political rights, economical rights and their total marginalization.
It continued, “The alarming issue is aroused due to the perennial influx of outsider in Manipur. Excessive migrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and other parts of India are dominating over the indigenous peoples. Under the circumstances the people of Manipur are very much eager for implementation of Inner Line Permit to maintain its time immemorial rich identity.”
Continuing on the importance of implementing the ILP in the state, the Memorandum said, “Without such regulation, influx of outsiders cannot be controlled”.
It has further appealed to the Centre ‘to honour and respect the Resolution of the Manipur State Legislative Assembly to implement Inner Line Permit in Manipur’.
“We consider that it is the responsibility of Indian State to protect and save the identity, socio-economic and rights of the citizens, including the people of Manipur.”
Further elaborating on the history of Manipur, it said that Manipur was an independent kingdom with written historical chronicle dating from 33 A.D.
“The sovereignty of Manipur was lost into the hands of the British in 1891. Manipur regained independence in 1947, and established a democratically elected government under its own Constitution of Manipur few years before the Indian constitution was adopted.”
“Manipur had its own policy of controlling and checking outsiders before the British invasion in 1891. It was continued as Permit system during British rule. The permit system for entering into Manipur was recognised by the Dominion Government of India before the controversial annexation took place in 1949.”
“The permit system was continued till 17 November 1950, until it was arbitrarily abolished without the consent of the indigenous peoples during the Chief Commissioner’s rule in Manipur”, it continued.
“Our demand for permit system in Manipur is framed within the existing constitutional framework. We held the Government of India as fully responsible to protect the interest of the people of Manipur to defend their identity, socio-cultural, political and economic rights.”