Skip to main content

From the archive: Manipuri govt. questions the validity of Bishnupriyas

Aug 2, 1999 2:27 pm

Manipuri govt. questions the validity of Bishnupriyas as a

This is nothing but racism !
--------------------------------------------------

Inclusion of Bishnupriyas in OBC list Manipur Govt moves Supreme Court

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 — Threatened by the recognition of Bishnupriya Manipuris as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by States of Assam and Tripura and an order of Gauhati High Court, the Manipur Government has moved the Supreme Court detailing the differences between the Bishnupriyas and Manipuris, reports PTI.

The Manipur Government has challenged the decision of the High Court to include Bishnupriya Manipuris in the State list of OBCs saying the Court has given the direction without going into the question whether such a community existed at all.

The petitioner said the decision of the States of Assam and Tripura allowing prefixing or suffixing of the word 'Manipuri' with Bishnupriyas would create a confusion and pose danger to the distinct identity of Manipuri language and the culture of their community. 

It said the Meiteis were of Mongoloid origin and their language Manipuri was of Kuki-Chin group belonging to Tibeto-Burmese family. However, Bishnupriyas were of Aryan origin and had settled in Assam and Tripura after migrating to the north-eastern region, the petitioner said.

While some experts believe that they came from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (now Bengladesh), others believe they came from Rangapatras area in Assam, the Government said in its petition moved through advocate Kh Nobin Singh. The petitioner said, however, the experts were unanimous that “linguistically, historically, ethnically and culturally, the Manipuris are quite different and distinct from the community called Bishnupriya, the former belonging to Mongoloid stock while the latter to Aryan.”

“The recognition of the Bishnupriya community and the language spoken by them by the States of Assam and Tripura as 'Manipuri Bishnupriya' or 'Bishnupriya Manipuri' at the instigation of Bishnupriya community is nothing but infringement of the fundamental rights of the Manipuri community guaranteed under Article 29 of the Constitution as it creates confusion in the distinct identity of the Manipuri language and culture of their community,” the petitioner said. It said the State of Assam had in its 1975 notification on OBCs had included Manipuris clarifying “Manipuri including Manipuri Brahmin and Manipuri Muslim.”

The petitioner said even in the 1991 census, Manipuris and Bishnupriyas continued to be shown as different languages but in 1996 the Assam Government issued a corrigendum notifying that “Manipuri including Bishnupriya Manipuri, Manipuri Brahmin and Manipuri Muslims.”

When this was challenged in the High Court, the latter said it was ill-equipped to decide the dispute which required a study into the origin, history and culture of the two communities but directed inclusion of Bishnupriya Manipuris in the list of OBCs. 

http://www.assamtribune.com/aug0299/ne.html [Link doesn't work]
Indian Express http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19990802/ige02078.html 

===
Center for Justice and Peace in South Asia -
An advocacy group for Indigenous and Minority Rights

Courtesy: Yahoo Group

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Thakur, the great saint of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Community was born on 26th October, 1871, in a remote village of Cachar district called Baropua in the state of Assam. He was born to a Xatriya Manipuri family. His father Sri Sanatan Pandit was a Sanskrit teacher and mother Srimati Malati Devi, a house wife. Sadhu Baba from his childhood was indifferent to all worldly happenings. He was engrossed in chanting the name of Lord Krishna. Along with other students of his age, Sadhu Baba started taking lessons of grammar and other spiritual literature from his father. At a very young age he lost his mother but he was brought up with utmost love and care by his step mother. At the age of eighteen, Sadhu baba lost his father, so, to continue his spiritual education under the guidance of Rajpandit Mineshwas Swarbabhwam Bhattacherjee, he went to Tripura. But within one year he made up his mind to visit all the holy places and as such he took permis

Assam Search Engine: Bisarok

Exclusive search engine on Assam Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN Jun 16, 2012, 01.46PM IST NEW DELHI: Assam got its own search engine ' Bisarok '. The search engine has been launched to get results exclusively on queries and information related to Assam. 'Bisarok', means 'to search' in Assamese language, has been launched and has been linked to various websites of the Government of Assam and departments, educational institutions and media. The search engine is likely to give a new online experience related to searches on Assam. Built on Google custom search engine, the search engine would be collating and building a database of web properties exclusively of the state in the North East region. 'Bisarok' has been developed by RK Rishikesh Sinha, who had earlier created a similar custom search engine ('Bisarei') on Bishnupriya Manipuri. According to Sinha, apart from Google there was no link to get results particularly on Assam. Any web entity related

A short history of the Bishnupriya Manipuri and their religio-cultural consciousness

Undoubtedly, the accurate period of the emergence or the development of religious consciousness of the Bishnupriya Manipuri is difficult to ascertain, but it is an old one that is undoubted, writes Rini Sinha , Guwahati . Religious beliefs are found virtually in every human society. Religious beliefs usually relates to the existence and worship of a deity or deities and divine involvement in the universe and human life. Religious knowledge according to religious practitioners may be gained from religious leaders, sacred texts or personal revelation. The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultural communities. The accurate period of emergence or development of religious consciousness of the Bishnupriya Manipuries is difficult to ascertain, but it is an old one that is undoubted. However, on the basis of the views of different scholars, pre-historic and historical remain whatsoever is available and from the logic of personal observations, we may put forward some view