Enforce Inner Line Permit System in Manipur

Image courtesy: Manipurda ILP Chatnahallu

The government must enforce the Inner Line Permit system in Manipur as soon as possible. As it has been also reported elsewhere in some newspapers published in the state, there is now no space for further deliberation on the issue but the immediate implementation of the ILP system.

   

INNER LINE PERMIT SYSTEM AT A GLANCE

    WHAT        An official travel document issued by the government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected / restricted area for a limited period. 

  WHERE     In the state of Manipur. It should be made obligatory for the Indian citizens from outside Manipur to obtain permit for entering into this state. 

  HOW    The government must implement the ILP system and issue the travel document to any outsider who are coming to Manipur. 

   WHY       To protect the vulnerable minorities and safeguard the culture and identity of the various ethnic groups in Manipur. The document is also an effort by the government to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India.

   WHEN         As soon as possible.

This article is the translated copy of a handbill in Manipuri, distributed by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System, for the campaign spearheaded by the Federation of Regional Indigenous Society (FREINDS). I have omitted some parts of the original handbill while I was going through it for sense check.

Since the integration of Manipur into the union of India on 15 October 1949, the erstwhile South-east Asian kingdom — which had existed independently for thousand of years — has seen a gradual deterioration in its unique identity and ethno-demographic structure. Outsiders have been pouring in, without any restraint, after the revocation of an earlier permit system on 18 November 1950, when Himmat Singh was the chief commissioner of Manipur. Now these outsiders comprise one-third of the total population which is 27.21 lakh according to the census of 2011. More worryingly, their ever-increasing population (of around nine lakh) exceeds those of the smaller, yet our closely-related tribes in the hills and the valley region of the state. In several assembly constituencies of Jiri, Thangmeiband, Uripok, Sugnu, Khundrakpam, Wangkhei, Moreh, Kangpokpi, Senapati, Ukhrul, Churachandpur, Bishnupur, Heingang and others, it has become impossible to elect our representatives without the unasked support of the outsiders.

Image courtesy: Seven Sisters Post

The outsiders are whimsically fixing the price of our daily commodities; they are also the sole agents, the whole dealers, while we are at their mercy. We are becoming dependent on others for governance, economy, religion, ways of lifestyle and even for the air that we breath. We have realised, in a hard way, the core of the old saying, 'Sandrembee emadi ngaksam youwre', implying the atrocious condition of our slow and painful death. Previously we had the courage to save ourselves from trouble; but now leave alone our daring nature, we are afraid of what the others would mistake our ability with. This is the moment we have to understand, this is the time we have to see — while we are fighting amongst ourselves — the outsiders are capitalising on our disunity. When the parasites are sucking our blood, we are worried not about how long we will be living but about how we will be living if we get rid of them. Ngasidi echa leitabada kaptana meecha sibada kaptuna tengthare.           

In the name of development there will be railway lines very soon in our state. Even before we can realise, there will be countless beggars and alms-seekers and disabled people standing at our doorsteps. But in our land where this number of insignificant people from mainland India will be more than the already dying minorities, there looms a terrifying situation of our own people digging their own grave and disappearing without a trace. Is this what we are going to wait for? Is it not our collective responsibility, with the fuel of the Inner Line Permit system, to reignite our dimming existence? So inevitably, let us insist our representatives and MLAs to chip in for the implementation of the ILP.  Let us decide our fate together. For the sake of our future generation, let us take it up as a personal obligation. If Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal can have this system, then we can also have it.

Image courtesy: Manipurda ILP Chatnahallu

Today in our state, foreigners like the Bangladeshi muslims, the Nepalese and the Myanmarese have started standing for elections and some of them have also emerged victorious. We are now gathered here in our last bastion. There is hardly any issue in living together with the various groups of people from India, however, we have to take a decision for posterity, for the very small number of people belonging to different ethnic groups that have been coexisting since time immemorial.     

Yumdangbana keinare, shembi mukaklei maruna mafam khuding maton thokle: we are having the most illogical fear that we cannot live without depending on others. Our unending slavish submission has failed to let us see that we can also be masters. The time is high to take a firm stand, in the 21st century and beyond, how we wish to preserve the cultural identities and images of different ethnic groups of this former independent kingdom for good. Animal instincts drive us to thrive in favourable places and subsequently the same factor is forcing the outsiders to pour into this land. So there is no question of mistreating them, in fact, they should participate in this campaign. Outsiders do live and do business in the different states like Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal, where this system is in effect. The ILP system does not prohibit the entry of outsiders, but merely they are given a pass so that they can be easily identified and can stay over for a specific period of time on one hand. This will facilitate us, on the other, to streamline our governance and administration, to protect our identity and to refrain ourselves from the formation of a hybrid nation.  

Read  TOP 10 REASONS WHY WE NEED INNER LINE PERMIT IN MANIPUR by W Rorrkychand Singh on Chayolsida Manipur on Facebook