The Tribal Youth Council Manipur (TYCM), Council Headquarters, has served an ultimatum to the Governor of Manipur, Chief Secretary, Addl. Chief Secretary, Tribal Affairs & Hills Department, Government of Manipur, Chairperson, Manipur State Commission for Scheduled Tribes (MSCST), and the Director, Tribal Affairs & Hills Department, Manipur, for the commencement of the functioning of the Tribal Girls’ Hostel at Old Lambulane, Imphal, on or before February 28. According to a press release of TYCM, the entire Tribal Girls’ Hostel located at Old Lambulane, Imphal was occupied by the para-military forces since May 3, 2023, following the outbreak of the ethnic clash in Manipur. The organization had demanded the Government of Manipur to remove the para-military forces from the Tribal Girls’ Hostel. After due consideration, the Government of Manipur removed the para-military forces from the premises of the Tribal Girls’ Hostel on September 29, 2025.
After the para-military forces were removed from the premises of the Tribal Girls’ Hostel, the TYCM–Women & Child Wing submitted appeals to the Director, Tribal Affairs & Hills Department, Manipur on October 28, 2025 and to the Additional Chief Secretary, Tribal Affairs & Hills Department, Government of Manipur on December 19, 2025, requesting the commencement of the functioning of the Tribal Girls’ Hostel to resolve the inconvenience faced by tribal girl students of Manipur. However, the concerned authorities of the Tribal Affairs & Hills Department, Manipur have not commenced the functioning of the said hostel till date. Such non-commencement of the functioning of the Tribal Girls’ Hostel clearly amounts to a violation of the right to education, it said.
The tribal girl students from far-flung and remote areas are staying in rented houses in Imphal, tirelessly paying rent. The parents of these students struggle to support and sponsor their children’s education while also struggling to manage their families and sustain their day-to-day livelihood through paddy cultivation. With the commencement of the new academic session in the coming New Year, these tribal girl students from far-flung and remote areas will again have to stay in rented houses in Imphal, continuing to bear the financial and logistical burden. If the said Tribal Girls’ Hostel does not function for tribal girl students from far-flung and remote areas, the very purpose of the hostel becomes meaningless, the organization said.
As no positive action was taken by the authorities of the Tribal Affairs & Hills Department, Government of Manipur, despite repeated appeals, the Tribal Youth Council Manipur (TYCM), Council Headquarters, filed a complaint before the Chairperson, Manipur State Commission for Scheduled Tribes (MSCST), on January 6, 2026, seeking necessary instructions and directions to the concerned authorities for the commencement of the Tribal Girls’ Hostel at Old Lambulane, Imphal, at the earliest. However, the concerned authorities have not taken any positive action till date, even though four months has been completed, it said. If the Government of Manipur does not take positive action within the stipulated time given, the TYCM-CHQ will be compelled to resort to democratic forms of agitation, it cautioned.
