Imphal: The World Meetei Council (WMC) has renewed its demand for the inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list, asserting that the status is a constitutional entitlement essential for safeguarding the community’s identity, land and cultural heritage.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the global socio-cultural organisation said the demand enjoys broad public support across Manipur and urged the Centre and the state government to expedite the process of granting ST status to the community.
The WMC said a statewide signature campaign conducted in 2024 received the support of nearly one million people, describing it as evidence of widespread backing for the demand.
Formed in 2018, the organisation said it works to protect the rights, culture and socio-economic interests of Meetei communities living in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It added that securing Scheduled Tribe status remains one of its primary objectives.
According to the council, constitutional recognition as a Scheduled Tribe is necessary to protect the Meetei community’s ancestral land, language and cultural identity amid changing demographic and economic conditions in Manipur.
The WMC also referred to a large rally organised by the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) in 2015, claiming that around 1.5 lakh people had participated in support of the ST demand.
The organisation argued that the Meetei population, estimated at around 17 lakh, requires constitutional safeguards and maintained that the issue should be viewed as a matter of legal entitlement rather than inter-community negotiation.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s August 1, 2024 judgment on sub-classification within reserved categories, the WMC called on both the Central and Manipur governments to implement the ruling without delay.
The council further appealed to tribal communities to support what it described as the constitutional aspirations of the Meetei/Meitei people and emphasised that extending constitutional safeguards would contribute to preserving the community’s distinct identity.