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Fatte fatte hainariba, German gi Hitler
Fatte Fatte ngangnariba, Bin Laden
Fatte Fatte hainariba, Sadam Hussien
Fatte Fatte ngangnariba, Nagaland gi Jeliang
Magi leibak khak khanbagi,
Magi furupkhak khanbagi
Malem pumbana fatte haiba oirami
Adugumba luchingba oiyu latke hairibani
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Houjik leibak loire
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Lamdam nakhoina oihaley
Band Blockade tourafao tabidedo
Mee khara sidrifao khanadedo
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Pambara tunggi meerolna tin sitnabado
Touribado noina meeyamgine
Tallibado noina eikhoigine
Feiye feiye khanariba, Manik Sarkar
Feiye Feiye sonariba, Hijam Irabot
Feiye feiye khanariba, Nelson Mandela
Feiye Feiye sonariba, Che Guevara
Magi leibaki khanbada
Magi meeyamgi khanbada
Meepum khudingna moi (bu) sak-sonaribani
Adugumba luchingba oiyu latke hairibani
Eikhoigidi magi mama leibak yon-gadou touri
Adugumba meeoidu oiyu latke hairibani
Eikhoigidi magi meeyam minai oihandou touri
Sarkar gi thouong eikhoi amata pamdre
Wakat meefam rally chatpagi mathou tadre
Para tambisi moi haibagi matam heley
Eikhoi mangda taraga lei Thangdouba “khongthang”

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Manipur’s latest sigh and the idea of India

Manipur’s latest sigh and the idea of India

Monday, 20 July 2015 - 7:35am IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: dna | From the print edition

Garga Chatterjee -

 
While sections of the ILP movement points to ‘non-Indian’ outsiders as its primary concern, that’s a narrative of tactical convenience, given Manipur’s present political status vis-a-vis the Indian Union.

     Manipur’s Imphal valley, is witnessing an extraordinary mass movement around the Inner Line permit (ILP) issue, in the face of relentless curfews and Khaki violence. Protesters have been killed and wounded. We remain blissfully unconcerned because no senile ‘Gandhian’ or NCR candle-holding or tricolour self-righteousness is involved. The ILP is an Indian Union government issued travel document that outsider Indian citizens need to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland (except Dimapur). The non-partisan civic-political coalition called JCILP wants the ILP system to be promulgated in Manipur too. The ILP system was introduced during the late 19th century when the British were making new territorial acquisitions in the present day Northeast by force and adding these newly acquired areas to what  they called India. The ILP was partially developed to secure British commercial interests by maintaining peace without spending resources. British acquisitions that were beyond the inner-line enjoyed considerably more internal autonomy than their Indian counterparts. Such ‘Swaraj’ lapsed with New-Delhi raj. In 1949, the unelected King of Manipur was virtually detained in Shillong and allegedly forced to sign a merger document with the Indian Union.  At that time Manipur had a democratically-elected representative sovereign government in place, led by the Praja Shanti Party, which was of course dismissed by democratic India. New Delhi sponsored democracy has been unstoppable in Manipur ever since.

Manipur has no ILP system because it was never part of British India. When the British were busy expanding their India into these areas, the sovereign rulers of Manipur managed to largely preserve Manipur’s centuries’ old distinctiveness, politically, demographically and otherwise. After the 1949 merger, it had no method of regulating the entry of outsiders. The ILP demand is about preserving the communities whose homelands are in Manipur. The ILP demand stems from the reasonable anxiety of being destroyed by superior numbers. The population of Uttar Pradesh is 75 times that of Manipur. But aren’t we all Indians, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari?  Whether we are one people or not, depends on who you ask but what’s certain is that we are co-citizens. The youth of Imphal do not enjoy the freedoms available to the youth of Delhi. Probing those differences may uncover unpalatable truths. Hence, Indian Union’s ‘national’ media showers more concern on the treatment of Manipuri students in Delhi than the condition of actual Manipur.

While sections of the ILP movement points to  ‘non-Indian’ outsiders as its primary concern, that’s a narrative of tactical convenience, given Manipur’s present political status vis-a-vis the Indian Union.

For communities who once enjoyed autonomy to suddenly become ‘small’ or even minority in their homeland is extremely destablising. While the Constitution shows no concern for demographic anxieties within subsets of its population, the anxieties are real, especially in the backdrop of widely varying poverty levels, employment opportunities and total fertility rates from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Phizo, the Naga statesman, stated in 1951 that “we can easily be submerged and get lost: our culture, our civilisation, our institutions, our nation and all that we had struggled and build up as we are today will be perished without the least benefit to mankind” (emphasis by the present author). No one wants to become a pariah in their homeland. It’s this humane plural vision of the future, to live and let live, that has to be remembered. Can Tamils imagine becoming minority in Tamil Nadu? Can that ever be a good thing? If such a scenario threatens to emerge, can we even imagine the kinds of forces that will be unleashed as a reaction? No people should be pushed to such a corner. ILP for Manipur is an idea whose time has come.

The author comments on politics and culture

What is Inner Line Permit (ILP)?

What is Inner Line Permit (ILP)?

1. If you’re an outsider and want to travel to MiNA (Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh), you’ll need this Inner Line permit (a type of certificate/paper).
2. Even if you’re an Indian citizens and wish to travel to these places, you’ll need an ILP.
3. This provision was made by Britishers under an Act called as Bengal Frontier Provision Act,1873.
4. An outsider cannot take away any rubber, wax, ivory or other forest product (or any book, diary, manuscript, map, picture, photograph, film, curio or article of religious or scientific interest outside these inner line permit areas.
5. This ILP provision was made to give special protection to the indigenous people.
**** What’re the Implications of ILP?
1. ILP certificate can be used only for travel and not for permanent residency in the area.
2. Outsiders cannot buy property in the state.
3. Inter-caste marriages are not possible as residences of outsiders are not permitted.
4. There is no competition among the backward tribes and inflowing foreigners.
5. Although such provisions though are not valid for Central govt employees, security personal, etc.
**** Pro ILP arguments for Manipur...
# Inner line permit should be implemented in Manipur because
# (i) competition increased :
1. After independence, the influx of foreigners/non-locals/outsiders in Manipur has increased exponentially. This has led to increased competition (in jobs, business, election) among locals and outsiders.
2. Foreigners like the Bangladeshi, the Nepalese and the Myanmarese have started standing for local elections and some of them have also emerged victorious!
3. Local youth has to compete with outsiders for state Government jobs, college admissions.
4. Influx of outsiders, changes the demographic structure of the state= in long term, this could post to reservation quota for scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
#(ii) social problems:
5. Outsiders bring their language and culture. It poses threat to Manipuri language, scripts and local dialects.
6. Drug trafficking cases, incidents of rape and other crimes in the State have become more rampant due to the inflow of outsiders into Manipur.
7. Manipur is one of the six high HIV prevalence states in the country. The influx of migrants is worsening this problem.
8. Lands in tribal belts and blocks are being occupied by non-tribals and Bangladeshis, but the government machineries have done nothing to protect these lands from the encroachers.
9. Since the NE states are already backward in areas of education, infrastructure, etc such a competition has been passing onto the even younger generations.
10. The recent violent riots in Assam is an example on how if immigration is unchecked can lead to severe problems.
11. Outsiders are ready to work for lower wages. This makes difficult for the local Manipuri tribals to get any employment.
#(iii) Valid demand :
12. ILP system is already in place in MiNA (Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh), then why should it not be implemented in Manipur, which is in the same geographical area, facing similar problems for immigration.
13. ILP system doesn’t prohibit outsiders from entering into a state. It merely requires them to get registered so they can be easily identified.
14. Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part there of having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. This demand is therefore constitutional and legal.

Story of ILP (INNER LINE PERMIT)

ILP (Inner Line Permit),starts from 1873 when India was under the controlled of British rule that time manipur was not part of india.1873 act passed by British govt. is known as bengal eastern frontier regulation act( BEFRA )through which ILP system was introduced for some part of north-East which presently constitutes 3 states of india Mizoram, Nagalandand  Arunachal Pradesh all are from er part of British Indian. ILP is an official travelled document issued by competent another of the govt. to permit inward travel of Indian citizen into protected area if he/she is not the native of that protected area. This act was enacted with the extinction to protect the cultural identity and demographic composition of the protected area through regularly the entry of outsider. The people of manipur are of view that the situation in manipur is almost same with that of Mizoram, Nagaland and  Arunachal Pradesh. Thus ILP should be extended in the state of manipur. One thing we need to remember is that as a whole manipur is general category state but above 3 states are schedule tribe state. If ILP is introduced in manipur appears to be violative of Articles 14 and 19 of fundamental rights .and manipur as a whole to be a schedule tribe state it will be easier for enacting ILP .so ILP before enacting in manipur this bill should introduced in union parliament it need to pass in both the house of parliament with special majority and president of India assent then bill came into act. This bill is passed in manipur legislative assembly it need the assent of governor but governor is under the control of president of India. So it is better to introduce this bill in union parliament .suppose this bill is pass in manipur legislative assembly but governor did not gave assent bill is meaningless. And union parliament also have rights on this bill so my suggestion is that as soon as possible manipur as a whole converted into a schedule tribe state then automatically this 1873 act of Eastern Bengal Frontier Regulation Act extended into Manipur.

What is Inner Line Permit (ILP)

What is Inner Line Permit (ILP)?

1. If you’re an outsider and want to travel to MiNA (Mizoram,
Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh), you’ll need this Inner Line
permit (a type of certificate/paper).
2. Even if you’re an Indian citizens and wish to travel to these
places, you’ll need an ILP.
3. This provision was made by Britishers under an Act called as
Bengal Frontier Provision Act,1873.
4. An outsider cannot take away any rubber, wax, ivory or other
forest product (or any book, diary, manuscript, map, picture,
photograph, film, curio or article of religious or scientific
interest outside these inner line permit areas.
5. This ILP provision was made to give special protection to the
indigenous people.
**** What’re the Implications of ILP?
1. ILP certificate can be used only for travel and not for
permanent residency in the area.
2. Outsiders cannot buy property in the state.
3. Inter-caste marriages are not possible as residences of
outsiders are not permitted.
4. There is no competition among the backward tribes and
inflowing foreigners.
5. Although such provisions though are not valid for Central
govt employees, security personal, etc.
**** Pro ILP arguments for Manipur...
# Inner line permit should be implemented in Manipur because
# (i) competition increased :
1. After independence, the influx of foreigners/non-locals/
outsiders in Manipur has increased exponentially. This has led to
increased competition (in jobs, business, election) among locals
and outsiders.
2. Foreigners like the Bangladeshi, the Nepalese and the
Myanmarese have started standing for local elections and some
of them have also emerged victorious!
3. Local youth has to compete with outsiders for state
Government jobs, college admissions.
4. Influx of outsiders, changes the demographic structure of
the state= in long term, this could post to reservation quota for
scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
#(ii) social problems:
5. Outsiders bring their language and culture. It poses threat
to Manipuri language, scripts and local dialects.
6. Drug trafficking cases, incidents of rape and other crimes in
the State have become more rampant due to the inflow of
outsiders into Manipur.
7. Manipur is one of the six high HIV prevalence states in the
country. The influx of migrants is worsening this problem.
8. Lands in tribal belts and blocks are being occupied by non-
tribals and Bangladeshis, but the government machineries have
done nothing to protect these lands from the encroachers.
9. Since the NE states are already backward in areas of
education, infrastructure, etc such a competition has been
passing onto the even younger generations.
10. The recent violent riots in Assam is an example on how if
immigration is unchecked can lead to severe problems.
11. Outsiders are ready to work for lower wages. This makes
difficult for the local Manipuri tribals to get any employment.
#(iii) Valid demand :
12. ILP system is already in place in MiNA (Mizoram, Nagaland,
Arunachal Pradesh), then why should it not be implemented in
Manipur, which is in the same geographical area, facing similar
problems for immigration.
13. ILP system doesn’t prohibit outsiders from entering into a
state. It merely requires them to get registered so they can be
easily identified.
14. Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India
or any part there of having a distinct language, script or
culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
This demand is therefore constitutional and legal.