Imphal, August 18: The World Meetei Council (WMC) has formally urged the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to ensure accurate identification of the Meetei community in the upcoming Caste Census, describing past classifications as a “historic distortion” of their true socio-cultural identity.
In the statement, the Council stated that the Meetei are an indigenous ethnic group of Manipur, traditionally organized into the seven clans known as Salai Taret, Khuman, Mangang, Luwang, Angom, Moirang, Khaba-Nganba, and Sarang-Leishangthem. The WMC emphasized that traditional Meetei society did not have a caste hierarchy, with all clans considered equal in status and descent.
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The Council attributed the emergence of caste divisions to the early 18th century, when the royal court enforced the adoption of Hinduism. Those who conformed to the Hindu caste framework were designated Kshatriyas, while those who resisted were relegated to the category of Loi, a term meaning “outcast” or “untouchable.” The WMC argued that this division was externally imposed, not part of the Meetei’s indigenous structure, yet it became entrenched in colonial ethnographic accounts and later in post-independence classifications such as OBC and Scheduled Caste.
“This artificial schism has misrepresented the Meetei in administrative records and denied the community due recognition as an indigenous people,” the Council said.
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To address this, the WMC urged that in the upcoming Census, the Meetei should be uniformly identified as: “Adivasi” (Sanskrit),
“Yelhoumi” (Meeteilon), and
“Indigenous” (English).
The Council maintained that such recognition would not only reflect historical accuracy but also restore dignity and correct longstanding socio-political disadvantages faced by the community.