IMPHAL, December 12
The first North East Indigenous Peoples’ Parliament (NIPP 2015) on its second day on Friday has adopted to extend support to solve all the problems of illegal influx in the States of the North East India.
The parliament held its 3rd, 4th and 5th sessions at the Kangshang, Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, Imphal today.
At the end of the 4th session, the parliament resolved to extend support to solve all the problems of illegal influx in the States of the North East India and further recommended that Indigenous people and tribes of the North East to avail all the constitutional and legal means to check and control the illegal influx.
The session also recommended that the working group constituted on the first day of the ongoing parliament will be empowered to explore the possibilities of amending Article 5-11 of the Indian Constitution and the Citizenship Act, 1955 to accommodate the interest of NE indigenous people, land and natural resources, water and big dams.
The 3rd session was chaired by Hidangmayum Dwijasekhar Sharma, former Principal DM College of Science as the speaker on the agenda Economy and Development – Look East Policy & Foreign Direct Investment, while Dr L Bishwanjit, researcher UIBE, Beijing was the first mover of the session followed by a vibrant discussion on the north east experience.
Prof Rajendra Kshetri, Department of Sociology, Manipur University, chaired the 4th session which had Prafulla Hafala, president, All Dimasa Students Union, Assam as the first mover on the agenda – Population influx & Identity crisis.
Prof Bimol Akoijam, JNU was the speaker of the 5th Session and the first mover was Ramananda Wangkheirakpam, a renowned Aactivist on the agenda - Economy and Development: Land and Natural Resources & Water and Big Dams.
During the 5th session, the House also adopted certain recommendations including to urge the Government of India to seriously relook into the need to include the issues of tribal and indigenous rights in the constitution of India in tune with the existing International Covenant on the rights over Land and Resources of the Indigenous and tribal people.
It was also adopted to inform concerned Civil Society Organization of these issues and not to depend only on government and to entrust the Working Group to work out the modalities
The Parliament is being organized by the Coalition for Indigenes’ Rights Campaign, Manipur, Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha and Assam Meitei Apunba Lup.
The 1st North East Peoples’ Parliament organized to open a new chapter in the struggle of the indigenous peoples of Northeast India for their rights, dignity and identity today adopted to constitute a working group to look into the various issues raised in its first session had was inaugurated yesterday.
Courtesy: Imphal Free Press
