The Meitei-Mayek (traditional script of the Meitei community) is back in the news. The organisation Meetei Erol Eyek Loina-sinlon Apunba Lup (MEELAL) who is spearheading the Meitei-Mayek movement reiterates that the number plates of all vehicles should be written in Meitei-Mayek and warned that violators will be held responsible for any untoward incident from July 26.

The last date for fulfilling the same is July 25. Also, to enable the people to get their number plates written in Meitei Mayek, nine centres have also been opened.

“Laying down the guidelines, MEELAL said that if the people want to carry the Roman script al-ong with Meitei Mayek, then the same should be put on the front plate as well as the rear plate. On the other hand, if the people desire only the Meitei Mayek, then they may put up the same either on the front plate or the rear plate. Government vehicles will also come under the conditions imposed. MEELAL further said that the drive will cover the hill districts soon” (The Sangai Express, 21st July 2007).

Ethnic relationship in Manipur is “uneasy” since the event of bloody ethnic clashes in 1990s. The politics of ethnic assertion ba-sed on social, cultural, linguistic is conspicuously expressive in the early 2000s.

Ethnic politics is also closely related to the issue of ethnic-hegemony, cultural and political domination. Recent Manipuri language (indigenous language of the Meitei community) movement to replace Bengali script by Meitei-Mayek in fact threatens the ethnic relationship.

Certainly, language being important cultural component has immense social and political implications. Language is also the glue that holds societies together; therefore language policy constitutes one of the backbones of assimilation efforts.

The case of coerced assimilation has been witnessed in different parts of the world as John and O’Leary emphasise: “The role of assi-milation in the intensification of inter-ethnic conflict: they claim that assimilation cannot be successful if it happens only on the terms of one group (its language, culture and religion) because then what is under discussion is annexation and ethno-cide.

Such assimilation requires coercion, including compulsory education in a selected language” (John, McCarry and Brendan O’ Leary (ed.). 1993. The Politics of Ethnic Conflict. Ro-utledge: London).

In Manipur, Manipuri or Meiteilon was declared Manipur Official Language in 1979. Meiteilon is also commonly used as the lingua franca of the various ethnic groups in the State. However, a majority of the hill communities (tribals) cannot read or write because it uses Bengali script.

Tribal groups have their respective dialects and use Roman script. Language problem is not a new item in Manipur. The language problem in Manipur began during the early 1980s when the Government of Manipur tried to introduce Meiteilon as a compulsory subject in Class X.

But the issue was settled by keeping Meiteilon as an option for the tribal students in lieu of Additional English or the State’s recognised tribal languages. In 1992, Government of India recognised Manipuri under Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Now, the MEELAL is spearheading to replace the Bengali script by the original Meetei-Mayek. As a part of the movement, MEELAL activists goes spree burning of Manipuri-Bengali textbooks and also targeted public institutions. Noteworthy incidents is burning down of the 47 (Forty-seven) -year old Manipur State Central Library, Railway extension counter and Community Information Centre (CIC) on 13th April 2006.

However, Meitei-Mayek movement is strongly antagonized by the hill communities. The organisations like All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM), All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) and Kuki Student Organisation (KSO), United Naga Council (UNC) articulate their opposition towards introduction of Meetei-Mayek to the tribal communities.

Not long ago, the Churachandpur District Students Union (CDSU) and its activists confiscated a good number of Meitei-Mayek textbooks and set them ablaze in Churachandpur town.

The tribals felt that such approaches induce to “cultural imposition,” and also attempt to use language issue as a political tool for ethnic assertion and hegemony.

In case of the Nagas, as a part of their political movement “Naga Integration,” the private schools in Naga areas started to affiliate with Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE). As first batch, more than 2000 (two thousand) Nagas students from Manipur already appeared in the Matriculation examination in Nagaland in 2007.

Affiliation of schools from the four hill districts (Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Se-napati and Chandel) of Manipur, the Naga civil societies including traditional apex body Naga Hoho, Naga Mothers Association (NMA), Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and the Naga Students Federation (NSF) have issued a joint statement explaining the stand made in this regard. The frontline Nagas organisations explained the various dynamics involved in the process which subsequently elicited support from the organisations themselves.

The area of their “justification” is on the grounds of syllabi, educational policies and administrative concerns. The statement is signed by respective executives of the organisations. The statement mentioned that: “ In the first place, schools of the said areas opted for NBSE affiliation because of the varied and ‘innumerable’ reasons within the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM).

One of the most damaging reasons is the imposition of Meitei-Mayek and distortion of Naga history in the syllabi, the statement explained adding that schools of the stated areas are convinced that Nagaland’s syllabi is ‘undoubtedly far better’ than BSEM’s.”

Remarks

Indeed, the social co-existent is weakened by the contention of ethnic sentiment, partisan interest, jealousy and individualism. The present language row is a very serious subject and has to be debated across every section of the society and community. Now, the State faces inevitable “counter-productive” reactions from the peripheral hills.

Not only the language issue, but it is clearly portrayed that there is serious socio-economic inequality between hills and valley districts as well as tribals and non-tribals. Today, valley districts are rather well ahead in all round economic and infrastructural development.

Such economic inequality as well as Meitei-Mayek issue would further foster ethnicism and sectarian aspirations.

Language is a culturally sensitive issue because it touches the core of social element as well as identity. Present language imbroglio is seen as another potential factor that can stir up an ethnic hornet.