ITANAGAR, Jul 6: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) has written to Chief Minister Pema Khandu seeking clarity within seven days on the status of a 13-point memorandum submitted last month, saying it is yet to receive an official update despite detailed discussions held last month.
AAPSU president Meje Taku had led a delegation that met the Chief Minister on June 2 the memorandum was submitted. According to the union, each of the demands was discussed at length during the meeting, but no formal communication on the progress of the demands has been received so far.
“We met the Chief Minister in good faith and had a good discussion on every issue. It has been a month now, and we hope to hear back on where things stand,” Taku said.
Among its key demands, the union has sought the scrapping of the existing 80:20 recruitment ratio in state government jobs and called for mandatory Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) and Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) certification in all state recruitment processes. AAPSU cited the 2021 APPSCCE, in which a non-APST candidate topped the merit list, as reason for urgency of the issue.
The memorandum also seeks re-amendment of Article 371(H) to strengthen Arunachal Pradesh's constitutional safeguards on the lines of those available to Nagaland and Mizoram, inclusion of the state under the Sixth Schedule, resolution of the Chakma-Hajong resettlement issue, early completion of the Assam-Arunachal boundary demarcation, and enactment of a central law to address racial discrimination against people from the Northeast.
Other demands include a dedicated startup package for indigenous youth, a Chief Minister's Research Fellowship for APST PhD scholars, additional CUET examination centres within the state, a designated ground for peaceful public assemblies in Itanagar, and the establishment of a working women's hostel in the Itanagar Capital Region.
In its letter, AAPSU described the issues as matters of "constitutional, demographic, and existential concern to the indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh" and requested a time-bound update within seven days.
Taku said the demands concern the land, identity, and future of every indigenous Arunachalee and expressed hope for a positive response from the government, while affirming that the union would continue to engage with the state on the issues.