Dimapur, July 4 (EMN): The Manipur Tribals’ Forum for Delimitation (MTFD) has welcomed the constitutional exercise of delimitation in Manipur, saying that tribal people have been denied fair representation in the state assembly for decades.
Stating that the Fourth Delimitation Commission, which was supposed to be carried out on the basis of the 2001 census, was deferred in Manipur on the questionable ground of law and order problem, the MTFD said through a press statement that “the deferment in effect meant the perpetuation of the unjust division of representation in the state legislature and the house of the people”.
The MTFD has claimed that the tribal people of Manipur have been deprived of their fair share in terms of number of seats to the legislature since the attainment of statehood in 1972.
“The tribal population constitutes more than 40% of the state population, but only 19 seats in a house of 60 were allotted by the Third Delimitation Commission in 1973. This was in direct violation of Article 332 of the Constitution of India, wherein proportionate representation of the Schedule Tribe population is stipulated. Consequently, the tribal population of Manipur looked forward to the Fourth Delimitation Commission to make amends to the injustice of the Third Commission,” the statement read.
The tribal forum has termed opposition to centre government’s efforts to carry out delimitation exercise in the state as “extremely distasteful” and against the fraternal spirit necessary for sustaining the unity of the state.
“The brazen display of political apathy by the fourteen parties, without consent of members from the hills, bespeaks of a dangerous streak that is self-serving and has scant regard for the principles of natural justice. It should be noted that the official census of 2001 has been widely cited by scholars, administrators and policy makers in the country,” it stated.
It equated the opposition of delimitation exercise on the argument that 2001 census is unreliable, to questioning the credibility of the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner. It added that the argument ‘renders invalid the veracity of many research publications and policies that have been based on the 2001 census’.
“It should also be noted that when the delimitation was originally deferred by invoking the Presidential Ordinance of 2000, faulty census was not cited as the main reason. The MTFD is of the conviction that the ‘faulty census’ argument for the opposition to the delimitation in Manipur is just a red-herring meant to effectively deny the tribal people their just share of political representation,” said the statement.
The MTFD has appealed to the citizens of India to support implementation of delimitation exercise in Manipur based on 2001 census, while adding that “anything contrary to this would amount to miscarriage of justice and the misrule of law”.