Manipur Crisis: Why ST Status Is The Way Forward For Meiteis

By Dr R K Nimai, IAS (Retd)

Meitei, the tribe that settled in the central valley of Manipur has been squeezed from all sides. Without permission they can't buy land in the hill areas which constitute about 90% of the geographical areas of the state while the 10% of central valley is open to all irrespective of the community. Though Meiteis possess land in some flatlands within the hill districts like Churachandpur, Moreh, etc. Thus, the Meiteis had been demanding protection under the Constitution which is mainly Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. 

When the Meitei-Kuki conflict started on May 3, 2023 the cause was ascribed to the issue of a writ of mandamus by the High Court of Manipur to the Government of Manipur to send a recommendation for inclusion of Meitei among the list of Scheduled Tribe (ST) in response to a letter from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs which was pending for about a decade. Unfortunately, only the first sentence of the operative part was quoted but the subsequent sentences were conveniently avoided. This led to the Solidarity March organised by the All Tribal Students' Union Manipur on May 3. Elsewhere it ended peacefully except for Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh and a few other places dominated by the Kuki-Chin where Meitei houses were vandalised and burnt and the inmates forced to flee for their lives; ethnic cleansing of the Meitei. This led to retaliation and the conflict continues even after the passage of more than six months.

The Meitei felt that as a community they possess all the criteria laid down by the Lokur Committee for inclusion in the ST List. This was opposed by the existing STs of the state. In the past Meitei with a false sense of superiority had not lobbied for inclusion. But now the demand for inclusion is becoming stringent. The movement has been peaceful till now with no violence. Many of those opposing the inclusion of the Meitei from within the community then had perhaps not read Sloka 12 and 13 of Chapter 214 of Arjunavanavasa of the Adi Parva of the critical version of Mahabharata which reads as "Crossing the kingdom of the Kalingas, the mighty one (Arjuna) proceeded, seeing on his way diverse countries and sacred spots and diverse delightful mansions and houses. Beholding the Mahendra Mountain adorned with the ascetics, he went to Manipura proceeding along the sea shore"; which means that the city of Manipura can only be located by the sea shore. Thus the Manipura of Mahabharata can never be the present Manipur as the latter does not lie near the seashore and the present name Manipur came only in the 17th century. 

The existing STs of Manipur did not oppose the inclusion of other tribes of other states in the list. Therefore, one can infer that they are concerned about the reservation quota and that the Meitei will usurp land in the hill areas. Though technically, existing ST do not have locus standii on the inclusion of new tribes in the list, their concern cannot be wished away. After the state government recommends after examining whether a tribe fulfils the criteria set down by the Lokur Committee, it is for the Centre to decide and place a Bill before the Parliament To redress the concern, the reservation quota as it exists today in the state may continue for the present ST and sub-quota may be provided so that one community do not garner major share. One can consider 45% for the Naga, 45% for the Kuki-Chin and 10% for those smaller communities which neither belong to both. Meitei are plain-dwelling tribe and they will not migrate en masse to the hills even if allowed. They will prefer to stay in the valleys, including those in the hills. Hence to allay the concern of the hill brethren, the number of Meitei and the size of their plot can be limited. The major concern expressed is not the settlement of Meitei per se but the fear of the purchase of large tracts of hill areas by moneyed people. However, the Valley Forest Reserve declared by the State Darbar in 1932, excluding those subsequently declared as Reserved or Protected Forest must be open freely to the Meitei. These two steps should allay the concern of the present ST. The myth that some Naga and Meitei came from the same stock is contradicted if the Meitei do not become ST.

Meiteis are at a crossroads as once the 2019 Bill pending before the Rajya Sabha is passed, it will be the only indigene of the region without an ST tag. They will face serious problems once the rail line is fully functional as the Inner Line Permit on which great hope was held was like a sieve in screening migrants. The Meitei without a Constitutional safeguard, of which the ST tag is the likeliest, with a small population of about 1.3-1.4 million in Manipur just cannot survive as a community. 

The state government must examine the matter vis a vis the criteria laid down and expeditiously make recommendations before the movement turns violent. It should ensure that reasonable demands are given without violence dispelling the notion that demands with violence only make the government consider it. The patience though seems to be running out. 

(Dr. R.K.Nimai is a former IAS officer of the Manipur Tripura cadre. The views expressed here are solely of the author.)