New Delhi, July 14, 2013: “We are trying our best to get attention from the higher authority after IGNTU authority and the Manipur government failed to address our grievances,” said L. Etalakpe, President of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Student’s Union, Regional Campus Manipur (IGNTUSU-RCM).
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| IGNTUSU leaders meet Northeast students at JNU. – BKT |
Since June 25th, IGNTU-Regional Campus has remained closed indefinitely as students protest against the negligence of the university authority. However, neither the university officials nor the state government have attempted to communicate with the students to resolve their issues. This compelled the President of IGNTUSU and its General Secretary, KT Lalnihring, to travel to Delhi on July 5. The student leaders met HRD Secretary Ashok Thaken on July 12 and later held discussions with some Northeast students at JNU on Saturday evening.
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University was established in 2009 after prolonged agitation by tribal students of Manipur University against the inadequate reservation of seats for tribals. The students had demanded a separate hill university exclusively for tribals in Manipur but were instead given only the status of a regional campus of IGNTU, headquartered in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh.
Expressing frustration, Etalakpe said, “We had approached tribal ministers, politicians, and student leaders, including the Hill Area Committee, but no one has come forward. We submitted multiple memorandums to Chief Minister Ibobi Singh, but they went unheard. This is how tribal students are neglected in Manipur.”
“We are given a step-motherly treatment by IGNTU. We genuinely need a separate tribal university that can cater to the specific needs of tribal students. There is only one university in Manipur, and it cannot accommodate the growing student community,” Lalnihring added.
The two student leaders plan to meet HRD Minister Dr. M. M. Pallam Raju to highlight the plight of tribal students in IGNTU, Manipur. A memorandum will also be submitted to the President and Prime Minister, they stated.
Although IGNTU was established to provide higher education and research opportunities primarily for tribal students in India, the university has failed to fulfill its mission, especially in its Regional Campus in Manipur. The campus currently has three departments—MA (Political Science), MSW, and MPhil (Political Science)—with a total of 79 students. However, the institution is severely lacking in faculty, infrastructure, and library facilities.
The tribal students had proposed the introduction of specialized courses such as Human Rights, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Tribal Studies, and Physical Education, but none have materialized. They are also demanding the introduction of PhD courses and a 99% reservation for tribals in recruitment, from Grade-IV positions to the highest administrative ranks. Additionally, they insist that key positions, including Vice Chancellor, Director, and Heads of Departments, should preferably be from the tribal community.
Students also raised concerns over the MPhil course at IGNTU-RCM, which is not recognized by other central universities due to its one-year duration. Many students who applied for the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SCs/STs for the 2012-2013 session were not selected despite meeting all eligibility criteria.
Since its inception, IGNTU-RCM has operated from a temporary arrangement at Adimjati Complex in the heart of Imphal, and this makeshift setup continues to this day. Classes are still being conducted from there, while construction of the permanent IGNTU-RCM campus at Makhan village in Senapati district, 25 km away from the state capital, remains incomplete.
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