Mumbai, 30th May 2023
The state of Manipur witnessed a violent protest by Meiteis demanding the removal of their “Scheduled Caste" status from the state government for more than a month. The Meitei tribe in Manipur have made it clear that they are a progressive tribe and are not subject to the minority tag in the state. However, they believe in protecting the culture of their tribe by enhancing their language, culture and tradition. The ongoing protests got triggered by a high court order which told the state government to recommend the inclusion of the Meitei tribe in the Scheduled Caste list.
Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, has deemed the Kukis “illegal people”. This statement has put him under the question of being biased towards the Meiteis of Manipur. There are allegations against him for having a role in the attacks on villages with the Kuki people. The CM has also implemented targeted policies against Kukis to evict the tribe from plantation areas. In several hill areas of Manipur, poor villagers do illegal poppy cultivation for some extra income. In the past year, the Biren Singh government has launched a massive drive to wipe out poppy cultivation and protect the state from drug abuse. Most of the villages affected by this drive are inhabited by the Kuki community has resulted in racial profiling as per social observers.
On 3rd May, the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur held a 'Tribal Solidarity March'. However, the march was stuck with violent clashes breaking out. Many houses were destroyed in the violence in various parts of the state including the Imphal Valley. It was observed that most of these places were inhabited by the Meitei community. The march was held to oppose the demand of the Meiteis to be included in the Scheduled Tribes list. The Manipur High Court passed an order which boosted this demand.
The Kukis are a multi-tribal ethnic group that live in India’s north-eastern regions of Manipur, Mizoram, and Assam, as well as parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The different Kuki tribes of Manipur, who live primarily in the hills, currently account for 30% of the state’s total population of 28.5 lakh people. The Kukis have been demanding rights by placing them under the Scheduled Tribes section.
The Meiteis are termed “a tribe among tribes in Manipur”. The petitioner in court mentioned that the Meiteis as a community were recognised as a tribe before Manipur merged with the Union of India in 1949. The ST status demand was presented in the court as the need to “preserve” the Meiteis and save their language, culture and ancestral land. Manipur has listed 34 tribes and categorically arranged them under “Any Kuki Tribes” and “Any Naga Tribes”. The demand of the Kukis, for a Scheduled Tribe tag, has been opposed by Meiteis for over 12 years.
Yambed Laba, the advisor to the Scheduled Tribes Demand Committee, which has been leading this demand since 2012, said, “The Meiteis are now confined, to a mere 9% of the state’s total geographical area. Their future is bleak as they cannot settle down in the remaining 90% of the state’s area are scheduled tribe lands belonging to the various scheduled tribes of Manipur, while the reverse is not true.”
The Meiteis comprise 40 out of 60 Assembly Constituencies in the state. They are holding a majority in numbers which is the reason why Hill Tribe groups are opposing this allocation. Another argument presented is that the language of Meiteis is mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution making them viable to the opportunities provided under SC or OBC provisions.
Thongkholal Haokip, Assistant Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, has written in his paper, “The claim that Meiteis need ST status to protect their culture and identity is self-defeating. The Meiteis are a dominant group controlling the state and its apparatuses. The state has been protecting their cultural, political and economic rights. As such, their culture and identity are in no way endangered. To the hill tribal people of Manipur, the demand for ST status is a ploy to attenuate the fervent political demands of the Kukis and Nagas as well as a tacit strategy of the dominant valley dwellers to make inroads into the hill areas of the state,”
The Meiteis are not the only ones demanding the revoking of a tribal status in the northeast. Some other tribes like Tai Ahom, Matak, Moran, Chutia, Koch Rajbongshi, and Adivasi are also agitating for exclusion from the status. The state has reported several instances of tribal girls being raped and murders of many citizens in the Meitei-Kuki conflict.
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