Meitei ST Demand Committee submits affidavit to Manipur violence probe panel
The Hindu
STDCM submits affidavit to panel probing Manipur's ethnic conflict; Meitei/Meetei ST demand unrelated to violence.
GUWAHATI: The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) on December 29 submitted its affidavit to a panel probing Manipur’s ethnic conflict.
The affidavit was submitted at the Imphal office of the Commission of Inquiry headed by Ajay Lamba, a retired judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. The main office of this panel is in New Delhi.
“The demand for inclusion of the Meitei or Meetei people in the list of Scheduled Tribes of India had no connection with the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3,” Dhiraj Yumnam, the STDCM president who submitted the affidavit on behalf of the committee, said.
The committee engaged Manipur High Court advocate, Ningombam Bupenda Meitei and his legal team in the matter.
The ethnic clashes between the non-tribal Meitei people and the Kuki-Zo tribal group has largely been attributed to the ST demand by a section of the Meitei people.
Close to 200 people have been killed and about 60,000 people displaced in the violence over the past eight months, although Manipur has shown signs of reconciliation in recent weeks.
The Meitei people dominate the Imphal Valley while the Kuki-Zo people are spread across a few hill districts around.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”