The All-Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) has strongly decried the recent pronouncement by the Meetei Erol Eyek Loinasilloi Apunba Lup (MEELAL) mandating the compulsory inscription of vehicle registration numbers in Meetei Mayek script across the State. ANSAM in a press release said the directive is an egregious imposition — illogical in reasoning, constitutionally infirm in substance, and democratically indefensible in principle. It constitutes not cultural renaissance but coercive particularism. In a constitutional polity governed by the supremacy of law, no organization may arrogate unto itself the authority to enforce the linguistic emblem of one community upon the entirety of a plural and heterogeneous society, it said. It said that Manipur is an intricate civilizational mosaic, inhabited by numerous indigenous communities, each endowed with its own venerable linguistic heritage and cultural sovereignty. The imposition of a singular script upon all communities is a direct affront to identity, dignity, and the constitutional guarantees safeguarding equality and cultural freedom. Such unilateral insistence subverts the federal spirit and corrodes the delicate equilibrium upon which democratic coexistence rests, it said.
ANSAM declared that it shall not acquiesce to any illogical or unconstitutional demand emanating from any organization or community that infringes upon the inalienable rights and collective identity of the Nagas and the tribal populace as a whole. Cultural affirmation must never metastasize into hegemonic imposition. Should any deleterious or dire consequences arise from this obdurate insistence, MEELAL must bear the moral and civic responsibility for the ramifications of its unilateral action, it cautioned.
The association urged the Government of Manipur to intervene forthwith, restrain such unconstitutional impositions, and uphold the constitutional covenant of justice, plurality, and coequal citizenship before the situation deteriorates further.
The Tribal Youth Council Manipur- Central Headquarters (TYCM-CHQ) also expressed deep disappointment over the statement issued by MEELAL on Wednesday in local newspapers, declaring that all number plates of both passenger service and private vehicles must be written in Meetei Mayek script by March, and warning that violators will be held liable for any untoward consequences.
In a press release, TYCM stated that such imposition and warning by MEELAL should not be extended to vehicle owners belonging to the tribal communities of Manipur and are unacceptable to the tribal peoples of the state. It said that even the Government of India has not imposed the national script (Devanagari) for mandatory writing on number plates on both passenger service and private vehicles. It advised MEELAL to initiate and move forward in a manner which does not adversely affect other communities of the State at this critical juncture and in the future. It said that different communities coexist in Manipur, and any initiative carried out in a manner adversely affecting other communities may cause misunderstanding and disrupt the peaceful coexistence and harmony of the State.
TYCM said the organization fully acknowledges and respects the initiative of promoting and preserving the Meetei Mayek script carried out by MEELAL. However, it should not suppress the rights and liberty of the tribal communities of Manipur, it added. It cautioned that if any unwanted incident occurs to any vehicle owner belonging to a tribal individual in the State due to the imposition by MEELAL, the organization should be held solely responsible for that incident.