Asked to leave by May 31, non-Manipuris seek PM help

FACED with a notice by the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) asking them to leave the State, non-Manipuris in Manipur have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention and urged him to take immediate measures to protect their lives and property.

The RPF, the political wing of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), had last month issued a statement, asking all non-Manipuris living in the State to leave before May 31. It had described all those who entered Manipur after 1949 (when the erstwhile princely state had merged with the Indian Union) as “non-Manipuris” and said these people were facing “extreme hatred” in the hill State.

The Hindustani Samaj of Manipur, which dashed off a letter to the Prime Minister, said while the RPF had issued the notice fixing May 31 as the deadline, the State Government had done nothing to ensure the safety of the non-Manipuri people. “As many as 32 non-Manipuris have been killed by militant groups in the State since January while the RPF has asked transporters not to transport non-Manipuri people into the State,” said Nareshwar Kumar, President of the Hindustani Samaj, in the letter to the Prime Minister.

“In some areas, these elements are visiting the houses of non-Manipuris and threatening them to leave. As a result, there is a panic among non-Manipuris” he said.

There are about 50,000 non-Manipuri people in Manipur from different states, majority of them petty vendors and labourers.

(The writer can contacted at jagdamba123@gmail.com)