Imphal, April 26: The Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki tribes in Manipur, has strongly condemned the recent direction of the High Court of Manipur on March 27, 2023 to the Government of Manipur to recommend for the inclusion of Meitei/Meetei among the Scheduled Tribe list of the State.
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In a condemnation note issued on Wednesday the Kuki apex body stated that the Meetei/Meitei community, which constitutes about 60% of the total population of Manipur and holds 40 out of 60 seats in the Manipur Legislative Assembly, is considered an advanced community that has not been recognized as Scheduled Tribes by successive governments.
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The ST communities of Manipur have consistently opposed the inclusion of Meitei/Meetei, fearing the loss of job opportunities and other affirmative actions granted to STs by the Constitution of India to the much advanced Meetei community, it added.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur further stated that the direction of the Court to the GoM to recommend for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST list would only further marginalize the already marginalized tribal communities in Manipur, hence insensitive to the interest of the backward ST communities.
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