Imphal: Amidst the going unrest over five months now in Manipur owing to the ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo, a tribal community and the non-tribal Meitei/Meetei community, a purportedly leaked letter from the State chief minister to the Centre requesting for developmental funds meant for the tribal areas in Manipur hills went viral on WhatsApp on Friday.
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Against the purportedly leaked letter to the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munde by N Biren Singh, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a conglomerate of recognised tribes of Kuki-Zomi-Hmar-Mizo ethnic tribes of outer Manipur, India [as per their Twitter bio] today sharply criticized that the “Meitei NGOs, conveniently based in Imphal, are exploiting the tribal community as a means to secure project funds from the Centre which the State Govt can/will later use it for their own dubious purpose.”
The tweet by ITLF titled “”Unmasking Deceit: Meitei NGOs Exploiting Tribal Development Funds,” went further and accused the Meitei community that “Among other sinister reasons, by demanding the ST quota, the Meiteis aim to capitalize on the financial benefits associated with this category despite their existing protection under the SC and OBC classifications.””
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What’s in the letter?
N Biren Singh in the letter stated that there are tribal inhabitants in all the 16 districts of Manipur constituting a major part of the population is the state. He further stated that empowerment of tribal communities in Manipur, therefore, has a significant impact on accelerating the overall socio-economic development trajectory of Manipur.
Towards this objective, in the letter dated May 12, 2023, Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board [in Lamphelpat, Imphal], a statutory body established under the Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1966, had prepared a Detailed Project Report consisting of six NGOs of Manipur for ‘Integrated Empowerment of Schedule Tribe Communities in Manipur’ for submission of the same through the state department of tribal affairs. The letter stated that the NGOs “has been working in the far flung Tribal districts/ areas of Manipur.
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Why the letter is raising eyebrows?
However, as per the letter issued by Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board vice chairman, Wahengbam Dineshchandra Singh, none of the six NGOs recommended for different projects meant for the tribal populace are either owned by tribal people nor based in hill districts inhabited by the tribal community. The letter submitted to the Union Minister for the tribal projects amounts to over Rs 3 crore.
Among the six projects submitted to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, four of them are for mobile dispensary while the other two are for livelihood project.
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The six NGOs recommended for the projects include:
EEHUL Foundation, Konthoujam Awang Leikai in Imphal West; Empowerment of culture and rural development, Pishumthong Ningom Leirak in Imphal West; Rural community development center, Pourabi in Imphal East; Sustainable Center for development and culture, Konjeng Leikai in Imphal West; Naharol development foundation, Thangmeiband Meisnam Leikai in Imphal West and Center for research on culture and rural empowerment.
In the letter dated October 23, 2023, the chief minister further urged the Union minister to favourably consider the proposal for promotion of sustainable employment and creating self-reliance amongst tribal communities in Manipur.
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