The Manipur Files

Geography of Manipur and History of Violence in Manipur

• There are 16 districts in Manipur, but the state is commonly thought of as divided into ‘valley’ and ‘hill’ districts.?Today’s valley districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur, and Kakching were part of the erstwhile kingdom of Kangleipak, ruled by the Ningthouja dynasty.
• The Manipur valley is encircled by skirts of low hills?(hill areas comprise the bulk of Manipur’s geographical area), live 15 Naga tribes and the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group, which includes the Kuki, Thadou, Hmar, Paite, Vaiphei and Zou peoples.
• The Kangleipak kingdom,?then a British protectorate, was repeatedly?raided by Naga tribes who came down from the northern hills.?The British political agent in Manipur brought the?Kuki-Zomi?from the Kuki-Chin hills?of Burma to protect the valley from plunder by acting as a buffer between the Meiteis and the Nagas. The Kukis, like the Nagas, were fierce headhunting warriors — and the Maharaja gave them land along the ridges, where they could act as a shield for the Imphal valley below.
• Kuki-Meitei divide:?The?hill communities (Naga & Kuki) and the Meiteis have had ethnic tensions since the kingdom era.?The Naga movement for independence in the 1950s triggered insurgencies among the Meiteis and Kuki-Zomi. The Kuki-Zomi groups militarised in the 1990s to demand a state within India called?‘Kukiland’(a state within India).?This alienated them from the Meiteis, whom they had earlier defended.

What is Manipur’s ethnic composition?

• The State is like a football stadium with the Imphal Valley representing the playfield at the centre and the surrounding hills the galleries.?The valley, which comprises about 10% of Manipur’s landmass, is dominated by the non-tribal Meitei who account for more than 64% of the population of the State?and yields 40 of the State’s 60 MLAs.
• The hills comprising 90% of the geographical area are inhabited by more than 35% recognised tribes but send only 20 MLAs to the Assembly.
• While a?majority of the Meiteis are Hindus?followed by Muslims, the?33 recognised tribes, broadly classified into ‘Any Naga tribes’ and ‘Any Kuki tribes’ are largely Christians.

What led to the recent Unrest?

• While the forest eviction and demand for ST status for Meiteis have been the most prominent recent triggers,?the divide between the Meiteis and tribals on several issues has widened over the past decade.
• Issues in Delimitation Process: In 2020, as the Centre began the first delimitation process?in the state since 1973, the Meitei community alleged that the Census figures used in the exercise did not accurately reflect the population break-up. Tribal groups (Kuki and Nagas)?on the other hand said they had grown to 40% of the state’s population and were?underrepresented in the Assembly.
• Intrusion of Migrants from Neighbour Area:?The?February 2021 coup in Myanmar?has led to a refugee crisis in India’s Northeast. Meitei leaders have alleged that there has been a?sudden mushrooming of villages in Churachandpur district.
• The Drugs Problem:?Some tribal groups with vested interests are trying to scuttle govt’s crusade against drugs. The anti-drug drive was started by destroying poppy fields.?“Illegal settlers” related to the Kuki-Zomi of Manipur, growing drugs on cleared lands.

Recent Unrest:?The first violent protest erupted over the eviction of the residents of a Kuki village.

• 38 villages in the Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest area (in Churachandpur and Noney districts) are “illegal settlements”?and its residents are “encroachers (encroaching reserved and protected forests and wildlife sanctuaries for poppy plantation and drugs business”).
• Kuki groups have claimed that the survey and eviction is a violation of Article 371C, as kukis are residents of Hill Area.
• Article 371C provides for the creation of a committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly consisting?of the members elected from the Hill Areas of the state and Governor shall have responsibility for proper functioning of that committee.
• Using women`s bodies as a tool to demonise each others communities, where false information led to horrendous acts of sexual violence against women.

What is the Meitei argument to support demand of ST status?

• The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) began demanding ST status for the Meiteis in 2012.
• The?Meiteis were recognised as a tribe before the merger of the State with the Union of India in 1949.?The ST status is needed?to “preserve” the community and “save the ancestral land, tradition, culture, and language” of the Meiteis.
• The?Meiteis need constitutional safeguards against outsiders, stating that the?community has been kept away from the hills?while the?tribal people can buy land in the “shrinking” Imphal Valley.
• The?Meitein/Meetei have been gradually marginalised in their ancestral land. Their population was 59% of the total population of Manipur in 1951 and has now been reduced to 44% as per 2011 Census data.
• In Manipur, the government is the largest employer and the reservation for STs in jobs amounts to an unfair advantage.

Why are tribal groups against ST status for Meiteis?

• The Meiteis have a demographic and political advantage and are also more academically advanced.
• ST status to the Meiteis would?lead to loss of job opportunities?and allow them to acquire land in the hills and push the tribals out.
• The?language of the Meitei people?is included in the?Eighth Schedule of the Constitution?and many of them have access to benefits associated with the SC, OBC or EWS status.
• Kukis and Nagas point out that tribal areas are 90% of state’s geographical area, but the bulk of its?budget and development work is focused on the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley.

Way Forward

Need to evaluate the criteria for ST status (to Meities) in line with recommendations given by several Committees, like:

• The Lokur Committee (1965)?recommended 5 criteria for identification, namely, primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness.
• Bhuria Commission (2002-2004)?focused on a wide range of issues from the?5th?Schedule?to tribal land and forests, health and education, the working of Panchayats and the status of tribal women.
• A High-Level Committee (HLC) in 2013, under chairmanship of?Prof. Virginius Xaxa?was constituted to study the 5 critical issues related to tribal communities: (1) livelihood and employment, (2) education, (3) health, (4) involuntary displacement and migration, (5) and legal and constitutional matters.
• Bring more surveillance along the border areas to prevent the incursion of the migrants from Myanmar. Strengthening economic and diplomatic ties with neighboring countries can help enhance regional stability and security.
• Need to maintain the identity of the people along the border areas to identify the local residence. Signing Peace settlement agreements with the local insurgent group to maintain the peace in the region.
• The government should foster the participation of the people of the region in the decision-making process to instill a sense of ownership and belonging.
• In the light of recent videos of sexual violence, strict and immediate action must come from the state machinery to prevent such gruesome acts against women.

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Let there be peace in heaven,

Let there be peace in the atmosphere,

Let there be Peace on Earth! (Shukla Yajur Veda, 36/17)