The North East Students’ Organisation has said that it is disturbed and concerned by the actions of the Government of Manipur in evicting the indigenous Zo community from the ‘reserve forest’ under Churachandpur district and the violence that followed.
NESO asserted that the indigenous settles had been residing in the areas for ages and that they were evicted on ‘the pretext that they are settling on reserve forest’. It claimed that the Manipur Government had also been trying to evict the Khasi settlers ‘who also have been residing in those areas since time immemorial’.
The organisation stressed that the State government must bear in mind that the Zos and the Khasis were not ‘illegal immigrants from Nepal or Bangladesh’ but ‘indigenous communities of North East and have inhabited these lands from their fore fathers’.
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NESO called upon the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) and Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) to take initiative and to coordinate between them to maintain calmness and to prevent any communal tension.
The organisation has also urged the different indigenous communities to maintain peace and calm and to uphold the age-old relationship that has developed over the generations.
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) comprises of the Khasi Students’ Union’ (KSU), All Assam Students’ Union (NASD), Napa Students’ Federation (NSF), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Twipra Students’ Federation (TSE), All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU).
