Manipur NSUI unit warns Meitei script supporters

IMPHAL, Feb 12 – National Students’ Union of India, Manipur unit has threatened to take up legal proceedings against the Meitei Erol Eyek Loinasillon Apunba Lup, Kangleipak (MEELSAL), an organisation campaigning for popularisation of the Meitei script, for setting afire the books written in the Bengali script.General secretary of the NSUI, Manipur unit S Dorendra told newsmen at his office here on Friday that his organisation is ready to take legal proceedings against the setting and destroying of the books in Bengali script in the bonfires in the Meitei Mayek (Manipuri script) promotion campaigns which were intensified since Thursday, with the burning of thousands of books at different locations in the state. The general secretary said that his organisation has supported the campaign for promotion of the regional language and its script but condemned the actions of dishouring the other language and its script. Asked what legal proceedings would be taken up, the general secretary stated that if the MEELSAL intensified its campaigns for setting afire the books written in Bengali, then the NSUI will recourse to the court for dishonoring the other language and its script. He, however, refused to fix a date for the legal action.Interestingly, the MEELSAL has declared 2005 as the year of the Meitei script. The Bengali script has been in use in the state since King Pamheiba (1709-1748) burnt all books written in the Meitei script and introduced the Bengali script under the influence of missionary Shantidas Gosai who hailed from present day Bangladesh. The Meitei script campaign started during the 276th anniversary of Puya Meithaba (burning of Meitei books), observed at Palace Compound here on February 2.