Newmai News Network Imphal | September 18 A mammoth rally was carried out in Imphal today to demand Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Meiteis, the majority group of Manipur, under the banner of the Coordinating Body on Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee Manipur. Thousands of people congregated at Thau Ground of Imphal West district in the early morning before taking out the demonstration. The police took up precautionary measures to thwart any unwanted incidents during the rally. The demonstrators marched through different roads of Imphal city waving placards and shouting slogans like “Include Meitei/Meetei in the ST list of the Constitution”. Traffic movement in the city was halted during the rush hour due to the rally. They then gathered at Hapta Kangjeibung in Palace Compound where a public meeting was held. Representatives of various social organisations and the Coordinating Body spoke at the meet pitching for demand of protection of the Meitei community under the Constitution by enlisting it in the ST category under Article 341 (2). “The Meitei indigenous group has been left unprotected for a long time. We need constitutional safeguard by recognising the Meitei as one of the indigenous communities,” a speaker demanded. The Coordinating Committee has been spearheading the campaign for inclusion of Meitei in the ST list. It maintains that the identity, culture and language of the Meitei group can be protected only by enjoying the ST status. The hills people of Manipur have come to believe that tribals are given no stake in their own state. The tribal people believe granting ST tag to the Meiteis, general category, could disrupt their community in many ways. A few Meitei based organisations have shown opposition to the demand of ST status for the Meitei group which is made of one language. They said Manipur existed as a princely state under the Meitei kings and therefore the campaign on inclusion of the Meiteis in the ST category should be stopped.