Kuki tribals seek protection Manipur

SENAPATI - Over 5,000 students and activists of the Kuki tribe took out a silent rally here on Tuesday demanding protection of tribal areas.

Organised under the aegis of Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas in Manipur (COPTAM), the rally was taken out at Kangpokpi town and Sadar Hills Headquarter in Senapati district.

The activists submitted a reminder of a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner.

“We are fighting for our rights because State government is overlapping while collecting census. Because in 2001 there was census collection and most of the villages which were collected by the Hill District Authority have been overlapped by 2010 census collection,” said Thangkhulun Kipgen, President of Kuki Students’ Organization.

The Committee demands that the government should de-link revenue collection from census operation and district boundary demarcation, and immediate census of overlapping villages should be conducted, as was done in 2001.

It also demands that Hill Districts should maintain their own land records and collection of land revenue.

“Some problems arise regarding this boundary and also regarding revenue, land record. All the Hill’s area land record have been given the Imphal Valley’s and now according to the land record the government has mapped the map of Manipur and also included our area,” said Lamcha Chongloi, Chairman of COPTAM.

The activists want the government to take steps for constitutional protection of Manipur tribal areas.

They also burnt down maps of Manipur to show their dissatisfaction of the state government’s policy towards the tribal communities.

The Kukis, who belong to Tibeto-Burman region and have settled in various parts of northeast India for generations, are considered by the Nagas as infiltrators from Myanmar. (ANI)