Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Imphal: The World Meetei Council is fighting back. It denies claims that the demand for Scheduled Tribe status for the Meetei community lacks broad backing. The group issued a statement on July 11 calling out former UNLF chairman RK Meghen for his recent remarks. Meghen suggested the movement only represented a small slice of the population.
The council labels those comments as blatant lies. It says years of mass rallies and local awareness campaigns prove otherwise. The WMC points to a 2024 Mass Missed Call Campaign as primary evidence. During that drive, they collected nearly 10 lakh signatures from an adult population of about 15 lakh. That is a clear majority.
History supports their claim. Back in 2015, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur drew 1.5 lakh people to a rally in Imphal. The council insists the push for status is a constitutional right, not a bargaining chip for community deals. They argue the Meetei population is smaller than the Kuki-Zo and Naga groups and requires specific protections to survive.
The WMC also weighed in on the Supreme Court ruling from August 1, 2024. The seven-judge bench decision deals with sub-classification inside reserved categories. The council urged both state and central governments to act fast. They want other tribal groups to focus on implementation rather than blocking their goals. The organization remains open to talk. They told stakeholders: "Public discourse should be based on facts and not misinformation."
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