Pailapool: 200 Years in Assam, Still No Khilonjiya Status, Manipuri Muslim Meitei Pangal Community Renews Demand

The Manipuri Muslim Meitei Pangal community has renewed its demand for recognition as a Khilonjiya, or indigenous, community of Assam, citing its long history of settlement in the state.

Members of the Manipuri Muslim Meitei Pangal Khilonjiya Status Demand Committee of Assam raised the demand at a press conference in Pailapool on Sunday (August 16). They said the community has been living in Assam for around 200 years and has been seeking official recognition since 2016.

Addressing the media, a committee representative said the Meitei Pangal community is a small community with its own culture and traditions. He argued that the community should also receive Khilonjiya status as other recognised communities have received similar recognition.

The representative referred to the Assam government’s recognition of five Muslim communities as Khilonjiya communities, namely Goria, Moria, Deshi, Jolha and Sayed. He questioned why the Manipuri Muslim Meitei Pangal community has not received similar recognition despite what the committee describes as its long history of residence in Assam.

He further claimed that the Manipuri Muslim community has been present in Assam for a longer period than the Jolha community, which has received Khilonjiya recognition. The committee maintained that this forms part of the basis for its demand for equal consideration.

The committee said it has been pursuing the demand with the Assam government since 2016. Its members recently met Udharbond MLA Rajdeep Goala and Lakhipur MLA and Assam minister Kaushik Rai and submitted memoranda seeking recognition for the community.

The committee said it plans to meet Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and place its demand before him.