Imphal: The Republican Party of India (Athawale), a coalition partner in the BJP-led central government, urged Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to recommend the inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the national Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
Maheshwar Thounaojam, president of the party’s Manipur state unit, on Friday, met the Governor at Raj Bhavan in Imphal and submitted a memorandum requesting prompt action on the matter.
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Speaking to the media afterward, Maheshwar said the governor took the issue seriously and is likely to forward the recommendation, especially since the state is currently under President’s Rule and the assembly remains suspended.
Maheshwar cited a 1908 ethnographic report titled The Manipur by W.H.T. Hodson, a British administrator, which identified the Meiteis as indigenous primitive tribes of Manipur.
He added that the 1921 and 1931 British India census reports also listed the Meiteis as primitive tribes and included them in the Scheduled Tribes category.
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However, when the Constitution of India came into effect in 1951, authorities removed the Meiteis from the ST list. He stated that although Manipur remained under British rule from 1891 to 1947, it regained sovereignty before merging with the Indian Union in 1949.
When a journalist asked about the RPI (A)’s primary demand during this critical period in the state, Maheshwar responded that including the Meitei/Meetei community in the national ST list remains the party’s top priority.